What rivalry? Arsenal vs Chelsea in wake of Jorginho transfer

Deadline day in January is always fun, as clubs scramble to make the last-minute transfers that will make or destroy their season. This year was no different, with Nottingham Forest further expanding their huge squad, Manchester City letting go of a world-class defender and Tottenham Hotspur ending Matt Doherty's contract unexpectedly. One deal in particular caught my eye, however, when Jorginho left Chelsea to join Arsenal. The move was seen by many as a good deal for all parties; Chelsea secured £12m for a player they would lose for nothing this summer, while Arsenal added an experienced winner to a young side looking to win the Premier League title.

But, wait a minute. Aren't Chelsea and Arsenal supposed to be rivals? You wouldn't think so with the frequency with which the two clubs exchange players and the friendly relationship between the two sets of supporters.

Art by Charbak Dipta

This is an unwritten rule that clubs that share the same city are not supposed to sell players to each other. Generally speaking, those who cross this border are subject to a lifetime of abuse from the followers they betray; just ask Sol Campbell how his move from Spurs to Arsenal went. And yet, for the past twenty years, 13 players have worn Chelsea blue and Arsenal red and white.

You'd be forgiven for forgetting lesser-known players like Yossi Benayoun and Lassana Diarra who went straight from Chelsea to Arsenal, but much better-known stars like Petr Cech, Willian, David Luiz and William Gallas all followed the same path, with only the latter causing problems along the way. In the opposite direction, two members of Arsene Wenger's Arsenal squad in the 90s, Emmanuel Petit and Nicolas Anelka both found their way to Stamford Bridge after spells away from England. Cesc Fabregas would do the same over a decade later and achieve great success with the Blues. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also found himself on the doorstep of Chelsea after a spell at Barcelona, ​​although his time in west London was far from positive. As for direct moves, Olivier Giroud left Arsenal after six seasons to join Chelsea in a fairly innocuous transfer, while Ashley Cole's switch from red to blue in 2006 is by far the most controversial of all the deals between the two clubs. .

The general feeling as an outsider to this alleged rivalry is that the two teams and their supporters hold very little resentment towards each other. Obviously, when they're playing against each other, there's a desire to earn bragging rights, but there's not really fire or a fight. I struggle to remember the last memorable London derby between Chelsea and Arsenal.

I'm a Tottenham Hotspur fan, for...