Kolo Toure is still remembered fondly around the red half of North London, with the Ivorian sealing his place in the hearts of Arsenal fans everywhere as a result of his performances in the unforgettable 2003/04 'Invincibles' season.
The same cannot be said for William Gallas - purchased from fierce London rivals Chelsea in a move that saw fan favourite and academy graduate Ashley Cole go in the other direction. The Frenchman struggled to endear himself to the Arsenal faithful in a four-year period at the club which was littered with low moments.
The most obvious of which is undeniably his on-pitch meltdown at St. Andrews in February 2008 after Arsenal let a late lead slip against Birmingham. Gallas was escorted off of the pitch by then-manager Arsene Wenger, but the damage to his status as club captain had been done.
Gallas clearly did not have the support of his teammates, most notably Toure - who, as he revealed after his Arsenal exit, struggled to see eye-to-eye with his central defensive partner. The Ivorian explained how tensions reached such a boiling point that the pair would even refuse to communicate during games.
The breakdown in their relationship sparked Toure's decision to hand in a transfer request. It was initially rejected, such was the desperation to keep him at the club, but on 13 April 2009 he submitted yet another request to leave - this one was accepted and Wenger was resigned to losing Toure at the end of the 2008/09 season.
It was a drastic step from Toure to make his desire to leave a club where he had achieved so much so public, but he deemed his position at the club untenable so long as Gallas was there with him. Having sealed his £16million switch to Manchester City, Toure opened up on the bad blood between him and his French counterpart.
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"When you play with somebody and you don't even talk to each other on the pitch it's really difficult," he explained. "Me and Gallas - we didn't talk to each other at all. One of us had to go and it was me. It was coming down to me really because I didn't want to put the team in a difficult position, so I was the one who said I wanted to go.
"As a player, I had great respect for Gallas because he was older than me and in Africa when someone is older you have respect for them, but I think sometimes he took advantage of that in some ways. I had six years at Arsenal but the last two were very difficult. It can happen in football that you argue with somebody in training but when you are not even talking on the pitch something has to change."
One incident left a particularly bitter taste in Toure's mouth in the wake of a 0-0 draw away at Aston Villa. Gallas proceeded to give his teammate a verbal dressing down, which would have been infuriating enough, but Toure felt his manager did not step in to protect him.
Wenger made an effort to try and mend the relationship between the two but eventually conceded that the rift was beyond repair and sanctioned Toure's departure. Discussing the process while he was a City player, the two-time FA Cup winner said: "I think he understood he had to sell one of us.
"I didn't want to make any trouble to Arsenal because I had a really good time there and they gave me my chance. I was nobody when I went there and there is no problem with Arsène; not at all, I have huge respect for him.
"But I was not feeling happy in the team and, for me, I was looking for somewhere else and a new challenge. I think it was the right thing for me and for Arsenal, and I am at a club now where I am happy."
Toure went on to win another Premier League title in the most dramatic fashion in the 2011/12 campaign. Sergio Aguero's last-gasp winner at home to Queens' Park Rangers handed City the league at the expense of local rivals Manchester United.
In four years at the Etihad, Toure arguably underwhelmed in terms of honours won - with just one league and one Community Shield to show for his efforts.
Gallas meanwhile, burned his Arsenal bridges once and for all by leaving the Gunners and making the short trip across North London to the club's most fierce rivals Tottenham.
