Players who have played for Arsenal and Coventry—Ranked
The Premier League commences on Friday night as the champions take on the champions of the EFL Championship. This will be the first time Arsenal and Coventry City have met in a league match for a quarter of a century, with the Gunners demolishing the Sky Blues in two cup ties subsequently.
Amazingly, only eight men have ever represented both so, ahead of this eagerly anticipated fixture, we've ranked those eight players, starting with those who made the least impression all the way up to the best.
Alan Miller was something of a journeyman goalkeeper, who joined Arsenal at the age of 14, making eight senior appearances for the Gunners in 1992/93 and the following year. He would go onto represent a further 11 English or Scottish clubs, including Coventry, appearing once for the Sky Blues in 2000.
Miller tragically died following a heart attack in 2021, after which is family stated "Alan was so proud to sign for Arsenal as a youngster. He loved Highbury and being involved at what was such an exciting time for the club and the fans".
Another Hale End academy graduate who never truly made the breakthrough into the Arsenal first team is Julian Gray. His sole senior appearance for the Gunners came off the bench at St James' Park on the final day of the 1999/00 season. After that, he bounced around various EFL clubs, as well as a stint with Nea Salamis Famagusta in Cyprus. This includes just over a season at Coventry, for whom he played 33 times, scoring on his debut against Barnsley, but quickly departing for Fulham.
Born and raised in Dublin, Graham Barrett moved over to England as a teenager to sign for Arsenal, appearing three times at senior level, most notably starting a League Cup defeat to Ipswich. He was then loaned out four times, before being sold to Coventry in 2003, appearing 59 times for the Sky Blues, scoring seven goals. Of the 11 clubs he represented, he made the most appearances for the West Midlands-based outfit.
Sticking with the theme of players who began their senior career at Arsenal, Chuba Akpom was one of Hale End's hottest prospects. He scored 33 goals in 52 appearances for the under-23s and was tipped for greatness. However, he never netted in just 12 outings for the first time so, still only 30 years old, has had something of a globe trotting career, at least around Europe.
As well as representing seven EFL clubs, Akpom has won the Greek league and cup double with PAOK, an absolute hero in Thessaloniki, as well as spending time on loan at Sint-Truidense in Belgium, also appearing for Ajax in the Netherlands and LOSC Lille in France. During all of this, he joined Coventry on loan in 2014, albeit scored no goals in six outings. Now with Ipswich, he is set to come up against many of his former sides in the Premier League.
When Arsenal poached Dartford-born Ben Sheaf from West Ham United as a 16 year old, this was viewed as something of a coup. He appeared 75 times for the Gunners at youth level, but this led to just two first team appearances, coming off the bench very late on against West Ham in the Carabao Cup and Crvena zvezda in the Europa League.
The reason Sheaf is so high up on this list is his impact at Coventry. After joining the Sky Blues in 2020, initially on loan, he appeared 177 times for the club, a key figure in the side that very nearly reached the FA Cup Final, ousted by Manchester United on penalties at Wembley, having been 3-0 down. He now plays for Wrexham, departing for the Racecourse Ground 12 months ago.
Stephen Hughes was another highly-rated young prospect at Arsenal. He won the FA Youth Cup in 1994 and then accumulated 76 first team appearances, part of Wenger's double-winning squad in 1997/98. After falling out of favour, he spent time at Fulham, Everton, Watford and Charlton, before landing at Coventry in 2004. He would spend four seasons at the CBS Arena, appearing almost 150 times for the Sky Blues, enjoying a solid career for both clubs.
Really, for the first time on this list, we've landed on a genuine senior first team figure at Arsenal. John Hartson arrived from Luton Town in 1995, scored 17 goals in 71 appearances for the club, most notably on target during the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final defeat to Real Zaragoza in Paris. However, two years later, he was sold to West Ham, with Wenger favouring Dennis Bergkamp alongside Ian Wright as his front two, which seems fair enough.
The Welsh international target man bounced around a few clubs, including a brief 12 game stint at Coventry, in which he scored six times. He was then sold to Celtic, settling in Glasgow and appearing 200 times for the Hoops, but did leave an impression at both Highbury and Highfield Road.
Viktor Gyökeres puts Arsenal ahead in the dying moments!
How about the ball from Max Dowman 👏 pic.twitter.com/yxZW1sqHB9
Last, but by no means least, Viktor Gyökeres has certainly enjoyed success at both clubs. After inconspicuous stints at Brighton, St. Pauli and Swansea, Coventry is really where the Swede's career took off. He scored 17 and then 21 EFL Championship goals during his two seasons at the CBS Arena, firing Mark Robins' side to the 2023 play-off final, beaten on penalties by Luton.
This convinced Sporting CP to pay €20 million for his signature and, after scoring 97 goals in 102 appearances for the Lions, he joined Arsenal last year. While many Gooners remain unconvinced, his tally of 21 goals is not to be scoffed at, and Gyökeres is a Premier League champion.
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