5 players who played for Arsenal & PSG

Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain reside in two of the most productive football factories Europe has to offer. The streets of the English and French capitals have helped manufacture the gifts of many talents who reached superstardom.

Interestingly, though, the schools of Hale End and Campus PSG have rarely intertwined. Over the years, only a handful of players have played for both clubs.

As we prepare for the first Champions League knockout stage meeting between the pair, with a place in the 2025 final at stake, let's take a trip down memory lane and reminisce over the stars to don the colours of these two grand institutions.

1. Nicolas Anelka

A freakish talent in his youth, Anelka had two spells at PSG on either side of his stint in north London.

The electric forward arrived at Arsene Wenger's Arsenal as a 17-year-old destined for greatness. His blistering pace rendered him a defender's nightmare, and he carved out an important role for himself despite the club's abundance of attacking stars.

Anelka broke into the team during the double-winning campaign of 1997/98, but his best work arrived the following season as he was crowned PFA Young Player of the Year while finishing with 17 Premier League goals. The world was Anelka's oyster, but he struggled for contentment at Highbury.

He wanted more, and Real Madrid made Arsenal an offer they couldn't refuse. However, his time in Spain was brief, and the forward ended up back at PSG in 2000. While Anelka's return was met with widespread acclaim in Paris, the enigmatic Frenchman lasted just a year in the capital before returning to England.

2. Kaba Diawara

Diawara had the most journeyman of journeyman careers after leaving Bordeaux in 1999. His first stop was Arsenal, but the forward, signed as a depth option in attack, played just 12 times for the club.

His time at Highbury was forgettable, although some might remember his bright cameo showing off the bench at Elland Road which somehow failed to return Diawara his first Arsenal goal.

He had a knack of hitting the woodwork in red and white, ultimately underwhelming, and he left the club after just six months. The forward then spent three years at PSG but was out on loan for much of his time in the French capital.

3. Lassana Diarra

After failing to fill Claude Makelele's boots at Chelsea, Arsenal took a flier on Diarra at the end of the 2007 summer transfer window.

While doubtlessly talented, it was a familiar story for the French holding midfielder in north London. He struggled for first-team minutes, with Arsene Wenger preferring the grit of Mathieu Flamini in his engine room.

Thus, Diarra played just seven times in the Premier League for the Gunners before he was quickly shipped off to Portsmouth for a small fee. He'd later go on to prove himself as a handy asset for an excellent Real Madrid team led by Jose Mourinho before finishing his career with a short spell at the Parc des Princes.

Diarra played just 19 times for PSG before hanging up his boots in 2019.

4. Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta will play a decisive role during Arsenal's upcoming Champions League semi-final from the sidelines.

The Gunners manager doesn't have a deep-rooted connection to PSG compared to, say, Barcelona, who Arsenal could meet in the final, but he did enjoy a loan spell in the French capital while he was still trying to make the grade as a burgeoning midfielder.

Arteta impressed during his 18-month loan for a PSG team that certainly wasn't bereft of talent. He played with the likes of Jay-Jay Okocha and Ronaldinho, and PSG were keen to keep him at the end of his temporary spell.

Alas, there was no permanent move, and Arteta instead forged upon a path which saw him wind up at Arsenal almost a decade later. The boss spent the final five years of his playing career at the Emirates, eventually becoming club captain, although he looks set to achieve more as a manager with the Gunners than he did as a holding midfielder.

5. David Luiz

A chaotic performer who truly was one of a kind, Luiz's time at Arsenal was a footnote in a hugely decorated career.

The Brazilian was generally a sturdy enough performer at the start of Arteta's managerial tenure and played 73 times for the club. He was no long-term fix, mind, even if he did help the Gunners to FA Cup glory in 2020.

The bulk of his collective achievements arrived at the start of his career in Europe, with the defender racking up an impressive trophy haul after two spells at Chelsea and a two-year stint with the French behemoths. Luiz won a pair of Ligue 1 titles, as well as five other domestic honours.

He made the Ligue 1 Team of the Year in both of the seasons he marshalled PSG's backline.

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