A series of dibenzoarsole (also known as 9-arsafluorene) derivatives have been prepared, and their coordination chemistry has been investigated. The different ligand topology and the arsenic substituents govern the reactivity of the ligands. We report various crystal structures of palladium and platinum complexes derived from this family of ligands. The biphenyl backbone of the bridged bidentate ligands allows very flexible coordination. We have also studied the application of an allylic Pd complex in nucleophilic substitution reactions, revealing that the benzoarsole substituent is susceptible to metal insertion.