Arsenal are in Group F of this season’s Champions League and one the sides they face is Dinamo Zagreb. For many Arsenal fans that club will be familiar because of Eduardo, the Brazilian born Croatian, who spend six seasons there before transferring to the Gunners in July 2007. However, almost a year before, he and his club had come visiting the newly opened Emirates for the second leg of their Champions League encounter having lost the first, 0-3.
The Emirates had since it’s July 22nd opening hosted a Dennis Bergkamp testimonial and Arsenal’s season opener against Villa which had ended in a draw.
The match began badly for the hosts going behind with an 12th minute Eduardo goal (classic Arsenal sixes and sevens on a counterattack) before equalizing very late through Freddie Ljungberg. In the 90th minute, a 17 year old Walcott who had come on for Robin Van Persie flashed a cross to an unmarked Mathieu Flamini to score the winner. Two late flourishes and Arsenal had made history, their first ever victory in their new home on 23rd August 2006. More familiarly, they also booked passage into the CL group stage.
Arsenal: Manuel Almunia, Justin Hoyte, Emmanuel Eboue, Johan Djorou, Kolo Toure, Mathieu Flamini, Cesc Fabregas, Aleksandr Hleb, Freddy Ljungberg, Robin Van Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor.
Subs: Matt Poom, Pascal Cygan, Alexandre Song, Jeremie Aliadiere, Thierry Henry, Gilberto Silva, Theo Walcott
From that match only Flamini and Walcott are part of the present Arsenal side.