10 Players Who Played For Both Arsenal And Tottenham Hotspur
The rivalry between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur is one of the biggest rivalries in English football. Many great players have played for each club, but there are also some players who crossed the divide and played for both these clubs. Let us have a look at some of the players who played for both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
Here is the list of 10 players who played for both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
10. Laurie Brown
Arsenal 1961-1964 (Apps 109)
Tottenham 1964-66 (Apps 65)
The first player to ever find himself on both sides of the North London Derby, Laurence Brown, was signed by Arsenal in 1961. Brown played 109 times for Arsenal between 1961 and 1964. In February 1964 he was the subject of a controversial ₤40,000 move to North London rivals Tottenham.
Brown was known to play both striker and defensive-back roles throughout his professional career, while Arsenal had used him as a central defender, at Tottenham he was played in the attack, replacing centre-forward Bobby Smith.
9. Jimmy Brain
Arsenal 1923-31 (Apps 232)
Tottenham 1931-35 (Apps 47)
Arsenal signed Brain from Ton Pentre in 1923. In the next eight years, he became one of the club’s most successful goalscorers. He was the first to score 100 goals for the Gunners. He was Arsenal’s top scorer for four seasons in a row, from 1924–25 to 1928–29.
Overall, Brain scored 139 goals in 232 appearances including 39 in the 1925-26 season. He was sold to Spurs in 1932, amid increasing competition in the team. By the time Brain had joined Spurs he was in his thirties, and only played 47 times for them, scoring 10 goals, before leaving in 1934.
8. Emmanuel Adebayor
Arsenal 2006-2009(Apps-143)
Tottenham 2012-2015 (Apps-106)
Emmanuel Adebayor is not popular with fans of either Arsenal or Tottenham. However, there’s no disputing his talent. Brought to Arsenal from Monaco in early 2006, the troubled striker enjoyed a largely positive three-and-a-half-year as a Gunner.
Unfortunately, his head was turned and he eventually moved to Manchester City in 2009. Adebayor’s relationship with the Arsenal supporters turned sour after the infamous pitch-long-sprint-and-knee-slide goal celebration that followed his goal against them for Manchester City in 2009.
Adebayor initially joined Spurs on loan from Manchester City in 2011, with the deal becoming permanent a year later. He stayed with the club till 2015, before being released by the club.
7. Freddie Cox
Tottenham 1938-49 (Apps 105)
Arsenal 1949-53 (Apps 94)
With a Spurs career that spanned the Second World War, Cox boasted similar records for both clubs. Spent four seasons playing for Spurs before Arsenal signed him for a modest £12,000. Cox was a tricky right-winger who particularly excelled for the Gunners in the FA Cup, scoring the winner against Chelsea in the 1949 semi-final replay.
6. George Hunt
Tottenham 1930-37 (Apps 198)
Arsenal 1937-38 (Apps 21)
An outright Spurs legend, Hunt, was a ball-playing centre-forward whose exciting solo runs made him a popular player but also attracted rough treatment from opposing defenders. He was a prolific striker who scored 138 goals in 198 Tottenham appearances and was the top scorer at the club five seasons in a row.
His goalscoring attracted the attention of rivals Arsenal, who signed him for in 1937. Individually, his time wasn’t great with the Gunners, as he only played 18 league matches, scoring three goals. But he did win the 1937–38 Football League title with Arsenal.
5. Jimmy Robertson
Tottenham 1964-68 (Apps 181)
Arsenal 1968-70 (Apps 59)
Tottenham signed Robertson from St. Mirren in 1964. Right-winger Jimmy Robertson regularly featured for Tottenham for nearly six years before ending up at Arsenal. He made 181 total appearances for Tottenham scoring 31 goals in the process, including one crucial goal in Tottenham’s 1967 FA Cup final victory over Chelsea.
His career with Arsenal wasn’t quite as successful as it was with Spurs staying for only 18 months before moving on to Ipswich Town. He appeared 59 times for Arsenal, scoring eight times in that period.
4. Willie Young
Tottenham 1975-77 (Apps 64)
Arsenal 1977-81 (Apps 237)
Centre-back William Young signed for Tottenham Hotspur in 1975 at the age of 23. For two seasons, he played a primary role in Tottenham’s defensive line, appearing 54 times before switching to Spurs’ local rivals Arsenal.
He helped Arsenal reach three consecutive FA Cup finals, winning one against Manchester United in 1979. Young was also a runner-up in the 1980 European Cup Winners’ Cup Final. In 1981, he left Gunners to join Nottingham Forest.
3. William Gallas
Arsenal 2006-2010 (Apps 101)
Tottenham 2010-2013 (Apps 61)
Gallas joined the Gunners in 2006 as part of a swap deal with Chelsea involving Ashley Cole. He earned the honors of regularly captaining Arsenal’s first team while he was there and being named to the PFA Team of the Year in 2006.
However, unrealistic wage demands reportedly ended his chances of a new deal at the Emirates and as payback, Gallas shuffled up the road to Tottenham, whom he also captained and where he stayed for three years before relocating to Australia.
In this process, he ended up playing for all 3 big London clubs; Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham.
2. Sol Campbell
Tottenham 1992-2001 (Apps 315)
Arsenal 2001- 2006 (Apps 197)
Sol Campbell made his professional debut with Tottenham Hotspur in 1992, and between that moment and the summer of 2001, he was a club favorite and a consistent feature in Tottenham’s defensive structure.
He played over 300 times for the club before his 27th birthday, won the League Cup in 1999, and represented England at three consecutive international tournaments. However, despite an offer to make him Spurs’ highest-ever earner Campbell did the unthinkable and signed for Arsenal on a free transfer.
His defection to Arsenal, and the manner in which he left, created a largely unprecedented degree of animosity from Tottenham supporters, who to this day still refer to him as “Judas”.
1. Pat Jennings
Tottenham 1964-77 (Apps 590)
Arsenal 1977-85 (Apps 327)
Jennings is arguably the greatest of the players who played for both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. He is regarded as a legend at both clubs, probably the only player to be really accepted after the switch.
He appeared 591 times for Spurs, seeing them through to an FA Cup title in 1967, League Cup titles in 1971 and 1973, and a UEFA Cup title in 1972. In 1973, he was named the Football Writers’ Association’s Footballer of the Year and the PFA’s Footballer of the Year in 1976.
Then he moved to Arsenal thinking that his career was surely almost over, but ended up staying for a full eight seasons with Arsenal, joining them in three FA Cup finals.
When he finally neared retirement, he rejoined Tottenham once again, only to play a mere five matches on their reserve squad to maintain his form for the 1986 World Cup.