Arsenal return to Champions League action in late January as they look to finish off the league phase of the competition in style.
The Gunners know that two wins in the upcoming matches will secure a place in the round of 16, subsequently avoiding a two-legged playoff in the process and handing a less congested fixture schedule.
It won’t be easy for Mikel Arteta and his side though, as Dinamo Zagreb and Girona await them in those Champions League ties.
With Arsenal playing host in the first of those two matches at the Emirates Stadium, there may be a familiar face in the Dinamo Zagreb dugout.
Fabio Cannavaro takes charge of Dinamo Zagreb for Arsenal clash
That familiar face in the dugout for Dinamo Zagreb is Fabio Cannavaro, the former Real Madrid, Juventus, Inter Milan and Italy centre-back.
The defender had an incredible 20-year career at the top level of football, coming through the youth ranks at Napoli before starting regularly for them.
A seven-year stint at Parma was where Cannavaro spent most of his playing career, before subsequent transfers to Juventus and Real Madrid.
In that time, he won the World Cup with Italy in 2006, along with nine major honours at club level – which includes the La Liga title twice – and the Ballon d’Or that same year.
It’s fair to say Cannavaro knows a thing or two about winning, though his managerial career has taken a different route.
In the past ten years, the player-turned-manager has held ten different managerial jobs across the world.
His most successful spell came with Guangzhou Evergrande in China, where he won the Chinese Super League and Chinese FA Super Cup.
It has been relatively nomadic since leaving there in 2021, with spells at Benevento and Udinese not last particularly long.
That has seen Cannavaro land at Dinamo Zagreb in December 2024, with his first taste of Champions League football set to be against Arsenal.
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Fabio Cannavaro could haunt Arsenal in the Champions League
Arsenal are now set to take on Cannavaro in the Champions League, facing off against his Dinamo Zagreb side next up.
A defeat for the Gunners could prove costly in their hopes of landing a place in the round of 16 and avoiding extra fixtures via the two-legged playoff rounds.
One point separates Arsenal in third and AC Milan in 12th, showing how one defeat could send them tumbling out of those automatic places – which span the top-eight.
Cannavaro’s personal record against Arsenal as a player wasn’t all in his favour though, having taken on the Gunners four times during his career.
| Wins | 1 |
| Draws | 1 |
| Defeats | 2 |
The Gunners managed to land two wins out of those four meetings – during his days at Juventus and Inter Milan in the Champions League.
The defender will look to get his revenge in a clash of epic proportions in the biggest of European stages.
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