Top 5 players who played for both Arsenal and 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:

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#5 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.

#4 Viv Anderson

Viv Anderson brought cup success for both Arsenal and United

Like Rimmer, Viv Anderson was also a player, who played for both Arsenal and Manchester United, but actually made a name for himself elsewhere. He was a very important member of the Nottingham Forest side, which dominated Europe at the end of the 70's and that won the English championship in 1978.

Anderson was the first black player to represent the England international team and in total, he had 30 caps for the Three Lions. The last ones came as a United player in 1988. He moved to Old Trafford in 1987, following three years at Arsenal. Anderson was the first ever signing by Sir Alex Ferguson.

Following Forest's downfall in the 80's, Anderson joined Arsenal in 1984. He helped the team to a League Cup win in 1987, which was his first trophy since the European Cup win in 1980. At United, the versatile defender helped the club win the 1990 FA Cup, but didn't feature in the final as his relationship with Ferguson had started to deteriorate.

Anderson left Manchester in 1991 and turned out for Sheffield Wednesday, Barnsley and Middlesbrough before finally ending his career in 1995 after combining for 594 league appearances for various sides. He's in the England Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his impact on the English league.

#3 Frank Stapleton

Frank Stapleton celebrating a goal with his Manchester United teammates

Frank Stapleton played seven years for Arsenal and six for United. The power Irish striker scored 108 goals for the Gunners in 300 games before making a switch to Old Trafford. He helped Arsenal to three consecutive FA Cup finals and scored in the 1979 final against United in a 3-2 win.

Stapleton, who was turned down by United before joining Arsenal, found his way to Manchester in 1981. He ended up winning two cups as a Red Devil, and in 1983 he became the first player ever to score for two different teams in the final.

Stepleton ended his United career in 1987 after scoring 78 goals in 365 matches across all competitions. He also had a fruitful international career with the Republic of Ireland, getting 20 goals, which was a record at the time.

Whilst Stapleton wasn't the most prolific striker, he played a key role for both teams. With three FA Cup wins, he's one of the most successful players in the competition history. He's certainly considered a legend by both the Arsenal and United supporters for his heroics in the cup finals.

#2 David Herd

David Herd (right) scored a lot of goals for both Arsenal and Manchester United

David Herd is also a legendary striker who played for both Arsenal and Manchester United. The Scotsman scored 107 goals in 180 games for the Gunners between 1954-1961, getting 30 in 41 during his final season, before moving to Manchester. He's the 16th-highest scorer in Arsenal's history - just one behind Stapleton.

At United, Herd is the 13th-highest scorer with 145 goals in 265 matches. He won two championships at United, an FA Cup in 1963 and the European Cup in 1968.

Herd was born in Scotland but grew up in Manchester, where his father played for Manchester City. He started his career at Stockport County before getting his big move to Arsenal. But even with Herd's goals, Arsenal was a struggling side in the 50's and that led to his move to United.

Herd formed a deadly striking duo with Dennis Law in Manchester, but sadly an injury ended his career at the top level. He suffered a broken leg in March 1967 and was only a bit part player after recovering from it.

Hard ended his career in 1971 after scoring 269 goals in 511 matches across all competitions. Bizarrely, even with his great scoring form and the understanding with Law, he featured just five times for Scotland, scoring three times.

#1 Robin van Persie

Even with constant injury problems, Robin van Persie scored 144 Premier League goals

Of course, we can't have this list without Robin van Persie. The Dutchman with 144 Premier League goals to his name.

We can say van Persie never actually managed to show his full potential with all kinds of injuries, but during the seasons that he was fully healthy, he looked unstoppable at times. Proved by the fact that he had consecutive 30-goal seasons in 2011/12 and 2012/13, his last for Arsenal and first for United respectively.

Van Persie didn't win much during his 11 years in England, but he'll go down in history as one one of the best players in the Premier League era. He won the Golden Boot twice and was voted the PFA and FWA Player of the Season in 2011/12.

He's the Netherlands' all-time top scorer with 50 goals in 102 games. He was among the top scorers at the 2014 World Cup with four goals.

Van Persie averaged only 25 games per season during his time in the Premier League. If he would've managed to stay healthy, he could've easily managed to join Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney as the only players in league history with at least 200 goals. He has the fifth best goals ratio in the league with 0.51 per game