Arsenal face Chelsea in the Premier League this Saturday, and with that comes a lot of memories between both Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho.
Chelsea, under Jose Mourinho, have always managed to get a draw or a win against Arsenal, although on most occasions it was Wenger’s team who played the better football.
One of the games that come to mind here is the League Cup final in 2007 in Wales.
Arsenal were 1-0 up after 12 minutes with a Theo Walcott goal in the 2007 League Cup final, but shortly afterwards Didier Drogba scored and added another in the 84th minute for the game to finish 2-1 to Chelsea.
Arsenal had a young squad compared to Chelsea’s superstars and had many players like Eduardo, Van Persie, William Gallas, Adebayor, Hleb and Rosicky who were either on the bench or were unavailable.
How was the team set up back then and where are the players now?
Manuel Almunia:
The Spanish 'keeper was not a popular figure at Arsenal. He always had a mistake up his sleeve and, with Jens Lehmann getting old, it was always hard to replace him. After his contract expired, Almunia moved to Watford and retired in 2014 due to health problems. His stint at the Hertfordshire outfit was reasonabley successful, captaining the side to third place in the Championship and a play-off final at Wembley. Former Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes now starts between the sticks for the Hornets.
Justin Hoyte:
Being an academy graduate, Hoyte showed some promise and played a lot of games for Arsenal in right-back. He played back up to Emmanuel Eboue and Bacary Sagna before being sold for £3m to Middlesbrough. He now plays for Millwall in London after a successful loan spell from 'Boro. The Trinidad and Tobago international has played just two league games thus far but has a contract until June 2015.
Kolo Toure:
A great signing by Arsene Wenger, Kolo Toure was incredible for Arsenal during the Invincibles season and his partnership with Sol Campbell was one of the best in the Premier League. After a brawl with William Gallas, Kolo Toure was sold to Manchester City for £16m. Playing under Mark Hughes and Roberto Mancini during his spell in Manchester, the Ivory Coast international lifted the Premier League title in 2012 after making 14 league appearances. Toure, brother to City star Yaya, failed a drugs test in March 2011 and was suspended from football for six months. He now plays as a squad player for Liverpool after joining in 2013, appearing 31 times in the Premier League in just under two seasons.
Philippe Senderos:
The Swiss defender was a promising young player for Arsene Wenger. He had some good performances but was then injured and dropped. Senderos was sent on loan to AC Milan and Everton before leaving to Fulham on a free transfer. He now plays for Aston Villa after a year in Spain with Valencia. The now 30-year-old has taken part in three World Cup finals for his native Switzerland.
Armand Traore:
An academy graduate, Armand Traore was the understudy of Gael Clichy. He had some promising performances and his offensive play was the most interesting. After Clichy’s departure to Manchester City, Wenger planned on having both Traore and Gibbs to be fighting for the left back-place. Due to some disciplinary issues and poor performances, Armand Traore was sold to QPR in 2011.
Theo Walcott:
Theo Walcott was an 18-year-old at the time and wore the number 32. Since then, Theo Walcott has improved his game, his goal scoring ability and his speed. The only set back for Theo was that knee injury in January 2014. He has not got back into the starting XI since then but Theo definitely has the quality needed to get into this Arsenal team.
Denilson:
Denilson’s time at Arsenal was a rollercoaster. He started off as an excellent young talent coming from Brazil but with Alexander Song, Cesc Fabregas and the immergence of Jack Wilshere, Denilson went down the picking order and was loaned out to Sao Paulo in Brazil before being sold permanently in 2013. A poor start to his career, Denílson Pereira Neves was demanded to leave the club as he insulted the fans after getting sent off twice in his first three matches.
Cesc Fabregas:
Young Franscesc Fabregas was a great young talent at the time, he was mesmerizing at times and, at such a young age, everyone was so excited to see more of him. He went on to be the captain of Arsenal but was later sold to FC Barcelona in 2011 for £35m. In 2014 Cesc Fabregas left Barcelona and signed for Chelsea after being told by Arsene Wenger that he wasn’t needed at Arsenal. The midfielder is having a superb season under Jose Mourinho, as the London club look set to secure the league title.
Abou Diaby:
The unlucky one. Abou Diaby is a player with immense talent and a great football brain, but his injuries have just been unbelievable. Its been on-and-off for Abou since 2010 but everyone knows that when he is injury free, Diaby can easily be one the best midfielders in the Premier League. The Frenchman is fighting for a new contract and may be close to a first team return, as he has been applying his trade for the U21 team thus far.
Jeremie Aliadiere:
Jeremie Aliadiere was signed as a 16-year-old striker from France. His injury problems at Arsenal did not help and he was not really performing as expected, so was later sold to Middlesbrough for £2.5m. He returned to Arsenal to train after leaving 'Boro and even played a reserve game against Wigan, but the side lost 2-1. The forward was then sold to Lorient, where he became one of the main men up top. He now plays for Qatari club Umm Salal.
Julio Baptista:
The Brazilian spent the season on loan from Real Madrid. His time at Arsenal was not his best as he just managed to score 10 goals in 35 games for the Gunners. After his loan deal was over he was sent back to Real Madrid. His tenure in Spain was cut short and Roma snapped up the servicnes of the striker. Following three years and 12 Serie A goals, Baptista returned to Spain for a stint with Malaga and linked up with current Arsenal man Santi Cazorla. He now plays for Brazilian club Cruzeiro.