20. Clive Allen
Clive Allen is one of many men to represent both Arsenal and Man City, but which team got the better out of those players? As the teams face off on Sunday we take a look at who got the better deal.
Allen is a curious case. He began his professional career at QPR in the late 1970s, before making the move across London to Arsenal in 1980. His time at Highbury proved short-lived, however, with the Gunners almost immediately including him as a makeweight in the deal to sign Kenny Sansom from Crystal Palace.
Nine years later he joined Man City, but by his standards was under-par during his two-season spell, scoring 21 goals in 68 appearances. He then returned to London with Chelsea, the latest of seven capital clubs he represented – the others being Tottenham, West Ham and Millwall.
Rating per club: Arsenal 1/10, Man City 6/10
19. Billy Blyth
Blyth's stay at Man City lasted only a matter of weeks, the left half failing to make a single appearance for the club before moving to Arsenal in 1914.
The Englishman, who served in France during the First World War, spent rather longer at Highbury, playing over 343 matches in a 15-year spell which included a run to the FA Cup final in 1927, which Arsenal lost 1-0 to Cardiff.
Rating per club: Arsenal 8/10, Man City 1/10
18. Sylvinho
Sylvinho became the first Brazilian to play for Arsenal when he made his debut for the club in 1999, having signed from Corinthians as a long-term successor to the ageing Nigel Winterburn.
The left-back only lasted two seasons at Highbury, however, and joined Celta Vigo in 2001. He returned to England eight years later, as a 35-year-old rounding off his playing career with a single-season sojourn as a Man City reserve.
Rating per club: Arsenal 5/10, Man City 3/10
17. Dave Bacuzzi
Islington-born defender Bacuzzi took the long route to Highbury, following Ron Greenwood - who had become assistant manager at Highbury - from Eastbourne United in 1957. He had to wait four years before his debut, though, and struggled to nail down a place in the side throughout his seven-year stay.
The defender was duly snapped up by City in 1964, helping the club secure promotion from the Second Division in his debut campaign. Bacuzzi lost his place to Bobby Kennedy in the top flight, prompting a switch to Reading in 1966.
Rating per club: Arsenal 3/10, Man City 6/10
16. Tommy Caton
After being forced to cut short his playing career due to injury, Caton tragically passed away after suffering a heart attack at the age of 30 in 1993. Tributes were paid at both Man City and Arsenal, two of the four clubs he represented during his career.
The stylish defender started his career at Maine Road, becoming the youngest player to reach 100 top-flight games (while still in his teens). After four years he moved south to Arsenal in 1983, signed by Don Howe to partner David O'Leary at the back. Caton later lost his place in the team after the emergence of Martin Keown and Tony Adams, and was sold to Oxford in February 1987.
Rating per club: Arsenal 5/10, Man City 8/10
15. James Blair
Pictured here on the far right of the bottom row, Blair moved to Arsenal from Kilmarnock in 1905 and made 13 league appearances for the club during his only season of employment with the Gunners.
The inside forward lasted longer at Man City, playing 81 games in the Football League and FA Cup during a three-year stint. Winding down his career at Bradford and Stockport, Blair later committed suicide in 1913.
Rating per club: Arsenal 3/10, Man City 5/10
14. Paul Dickov
Diminutive striker Dickov was spotted by an Arsenal scout while playing for local side Livingston United in the late 1980s. He made his Gunners debut in 1990 but struggled to oust established players like Ian Wright and Alan Smith, and only played another 23 games for the Gunners before departing for second-tier City in summer 1996.
He joined them at a particularly turbulent time, even for City: in his first season he played under five different managers, and in his second they were ignominiously relegated to the third tier. The centre-forward helped City back to the top flight before joining Leicester in 2002, but he was back at Maine Road for a second spell four years later.
Rating per club: Arsenal 2/10, Man City 6/10
13. Eddie McGoldrick
McGoldrick signed for Arsenal after his Crystal Palace side were relegated from the Premier League in 1993. The midfielder helped George Graham's men to Cup Winners' Cup glory in his first season at the club, but he fell out of favour the following year and was eventually loaned to City in 1996.
That deal was soon made permanent and McGoldrick went on to play 45 games for the Manchester outfit in all competitions, before winding his career down at Stockport and Corby Town.
Rating per club: Arsenal 5/10, Man City 4/10
12. David Rocastle
Rocastle first joined Arsenal shortly after his 15th birthday in 1982, beginning a decade-long spell with the club. Nicknamed "Rocky", the midfielder appeared in 277 matches for the Gunners, winning two First Division titles and a League Cup before joining Leeds in 1992.
Rocastle was on the move again after just one season in Yorkshire, signing for City in summer 1993; he also lasted only one campaign at Maine Road, moving back to London with Chelsea 12 months later. In 2001, "Rocky" died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma,
aged just 33.
Rating per club: Arsenal 8/10, Man City 4/10
11. David Seaman
Only five men made more appearances for Arsenal than Seaman, who won three top-flight titles, four FA Cups, a League Cup and a Cup Winners' Cup during a 13-year career at Highbury.
After leaving the Gunners at the end of his contract in 2003, Seaman opted against retirement and instead signed a deal with Man City, then managed by Kevin Keegan. The goalkeeper played 19 times in the Premier League but decided to call time on his career midway through the season, retiring in January 2004.
Rating per club: Arsenal 9/10, Man City 4/10
10. Dave Halliday
Pictured on the far right of this picture taken in his Arsenal days, Halliday played 15 games for the Gunners in the 1929/30 season. Despite scoring eight goals during that time, the north Londoners sanctioned his sale to City at the end of the campaign, with the Scottish forward going on to spend three years in Manchester.
Halliday scored 51 goals in 82 games for the Citizens, before taking his talents to Clapton Orient in 1933.
Rating per club: Arsenal 3/10, Man City 7/10
9. Niall Quinn
As a teenager in Dublin, Quinn had his pick of sports: he played Gaelic football and hurling to a high level, and was even offered a contract to play Aussie rules, but fancied being a footballer. Having failed a trial at Fulham, he was snapped up by Arsenal in 1983 and made his debut two years later, scoring in a 2-0 win against Liverpool, but found it difficult to get regular game time at Highbury - with the exception of the 1986/87 campaign, when he played 48 times.
City snapped up Quinn in 1989, the striker going on to score 78 goals in 243 appearances – and even saving a penalty during one spell as an emergency goalkeeper. "I learned my trade at Arsenal [and] became a footballer at Manchester City," the Irishman wrote in his autobiography.
Rating per club: Arsenal 5/10, Man City 8/10
8. Emmanuel Adebayor
Likened to Kanu upon signing for Arsenal for just £3m in 2006, Adebayor struck 62 goals in 142 outings for the Gunners, one of which - a stunning strike against Tottenham - saw him win the Match of the Day Goal of the Season award in 2007/08.
His desire to move to City irked Arsenal fans, though, and their annoyance turned to anger when Adebayor famously ran the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the visiting support after scoring against his former employers in September 2009. The Togo international netted 19 times in a City shirt, with his last appearance coming just 16 months after his first.
Rating per club: Arsenal 7/10, Man City 5/10
7. Bacary Sagna
A consistent and reliable performer throughout his seven seasons with Arsene Wenger's side, Sagna had just a single FA Cup - won in his final season - to show for his time at the Emirates.
The Frenchman, who amassed 284 appearances for the Gunners, joined City on a Bosman transfer in 2014, but his pursuit of major silverware was frustrated at the Etihad too: while Manuel Pellegrini's men claimed the League Cup in 2016, the Citizens fell short in the Premier League in each of Sagna's three campaigns.
Rating per club: Arsenal 7/10, Man City 6/10
6. Nicolas Anelka
Although he began his career at PSG in the mid-to-late 1990s, Arsenal was the club where Anelka first made a name for himself. Signed as a 17-year-old for £500,000, the Frenchman scored 28 goals in 90 games and earned himself a move to Real Madrid in 1999.
Anelka didn't last long there, though, returning to PSG and embarking on a loan stint at Liverpool before pitching up at City in 2002. The striker found the net 45 times in two and a half seasons in Manchester, before joining Fenerbahce in January 2005.
Rating per club: Arsenal 8/10, Man City 8/10
5. Patrick Vieira
An inspirational captain, influential midfielder and all-round Arsenal legend, Vieira remains one of the greatest ever Premier League signings following his £3.5m move to north London in 1996. The Frenchman was the driving force behind three title triumphs and three FA Cup successes, with his final kick in an Arsenal shirt sealing victory over Manchester United in the 2005 FA Cup final.
He returned to England with Man City in 2010, playing 46 games before calling it a day 18 months later. He was appointed the club's Football Development Executive soon after and is currently manager of sister side New York City in MLS.
Rating per club: Arsenal 9/10, Man City 6/10
4. Kolo Toure
Younger brother Yaya has been iconic in City's rise to regular trophy-gethering, but Kolo was also an integral part of a title-winning team at Arsenal in 2003/04. Toure played 326 matches for the Gunners in total, but a desire for more silverware saw him leave for Man City in 2009.
The centre-back was appointed club captain by Mark Hughes and initially retained his place in the team under Roberto Mancini, but by the time of City's title triumph in 2011/12 the Ivorian was more of a back-up option.
Rating per club: Arsenal 8/10, Man City 7/10
3. Brian Kidd
Despite returning to serve under three Manchester City managers (and counting), as a player Kidd was more heavily associated with Manchester United than their crosstown rivals, having played more than 200 times for the Red Devils and scored in the 1968 European Cup Final victory – on his 19th birthday.
The forward nevertheless scored 44 league goals in 98 outings for the Citizens, after netting 30 times in 77 First Division encounters as an Arsenal player between 1974 and 1976.
Rating per club: Arsenal 7/10, Man City 8/10
2. Samir Nasri
Signed for around £12m from Marsille in 2008, Nasri immediately became a key part of the Arsenal team, playing 44 games, scoring seven goals and providing five assists in his first season at the Emirates. A broken leg halted his progress a little the following campaign, before the Frenchman hit 15 goals in all competitions in 2010/11.
That impressive haul earned Nasri a move to City, who splashed out £25m on his signature. Having controversially moved in search of silverware, the attacking midfielder got his wish by being part of the teams which won the title in 2012 and 2014, before his eventual departure from the Etihad in summer 2017.
Rating per club: Arsenal 7/10, Man City 8/10
1. Gael Clichy
Clichy is the only man to have made more than 125 appearances for each club, having played 264 games for Arsenal and already north of 200 for Man City. The Frenchman moved to England from Cannes in 2003, immediately winning the title as part of Arsene Wenger's Invincibles.
Further trophies proved elusive, though, and Clichy moved to City in search of silverware. The left-back contributed to the club's Premier League triumphs in 2012 and 2014, and also won two League Cups under Manuel Pellegrini.
Rating per club: Arsenal 7/10, Man City 8/10
Overall club ratings: Arsenal 116, Man City 116
