He is the Arsenal striker who was on the bench last time the Gunners beat Real Madrid before joining Derby County only four months later

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Arsenal will take great heart from the fact that they have beaten Real Madrid before in the Champions League ahead of their upcoming clash.

Kolo Toure starred against Real Madrid back in 2006 as a Thierry Henry wonder goal was the difference over two legs against a star-studded Real Madrid side.

Arsenal had a makeshift defence in both legs of the tie with the likes of Mathieu Flamini at left back and Philippe Senderos alongside Toure at the heart of the back line.

Mikel Arteta will take great courage from the fact that the Gunners have upset the Spanish giants once before and a player on the bench for both of those ties went on to have an interesting career.

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Arturo Lupoli made the Arsenal bench against Real Madrid

Italian striker Arturo Lupoli was on the bench for Arsenal in that 2006 Champions League tie against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.

Lupoli was an unused substitute in the 1-0 win but did feature for the Gunners on nine occasions under Arsene Wenger, scoring three goals in the process.

He made his debut for the club in the League Cup third round against Manchester City in October 2004 before making his Premier League debut for the Gunners in February 2006.

Lupoli’s Arsenal goals came in the League Cup against Everton in November 2004 where the Italian scored a brace in 3-1 win and then against Reading the following season in a 3-0 victory.

He will always be a part of a huge moment in Arsenal’s history however, as he made the matchday squad for the win against European giants Real Madrid.

Arturo Lupoli’s career after Arsenal

Lupoli joined Derby County on loan just four months after being a part of the Bernabeu triumph and had a successful spell at the club, scoring 11 goals in his 39 appearances.

The striker was then snapped up by Fiorentina following his loan spell but made just one first-team appearance for the Italian club.

He returned to England on a couple of loan spells at Norwich and Sheffield United before a brief spell in Hungary with Budapest Honved FC.

The majority of the twilight of his career was spent in the lower leagues of Italy’s football pyramid with his most success coming at Fermana FC.

Lupoli retired in July 2022 with his last club being Imperia FC but on occasions such as the clash at the Emirates Stadium, his time at the Gunners will always be remembered fondly by the supporters.