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Top 5 players who played for both Arsenal and Manchester United

Robi
Robin van Persie served Arsenal first and then Manchester United

It's finally official. Alexis Sanchez has joined Manchester United and Henrikh Mkhitaryan has gone the other way in one of the most exciting transfers in recent memory.

The move is also notable by the fact that now the group of players, who have played for both Arsenal and Manchester United gets two new members with one transfer deal.

The two join a pretty exclusive club as previously, there have been only 14 players, who have featured for both. Danny Welbeck was previously the latest one when he switched Old Trafford for the Emirates in 2014.

Here's a look at the 5 of the best players who have played for both Arsenal and Manchester United in the past:


#5 Jimmy Rimmer

Jimmy Rimmer
Jimmy Rimmer has won the European Cup twice

Jimmy Rimmer has gone down in history as the greatest ever goalkeeper to play for Aston Villa, but before making a name for himself in the Midlands, he managed to turn out for United and Arsenal.

Rimmer started his career at United, where he won the European Champions Cup in 1968, though he was mainly forced to play second fiddle at the club with the legendary Alex Stepney ahead of him.

The Southport-born goalkeeper left Manchester in 1974 to take over from Bob Wilson at Arsenal. Manager Bertie Mee reportedly preferred Rimmer to England's no. 1 Peter Shilton as Wilson's successor.

Rimmer was voted Player of the Season in his first year at the club and had steady three seasons in total at Arsenal before new manager Terry Neill brought Pat Jennings with him from Spurs. Rimmer then went on to play for Aston Villa, winning his second European Cup in 1982. He was also a vital member of the team that won the English championship the year before.

Rimmer was the second player in history to win the European Cup with two different teams, though he ended up playing less than ten minutes combined in the finals. His 1982 appearance against Bayern Munich was ruined by an injury.

With Shilton guarding the net for England for two decades, Rimmer never made a name for himself on the international stage, getting capped only once, but he can be rated as one of the best English goalkeepers to ever play the game.

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