5 Best Arsenal performances against Italian sides in Europe

Juventus (2005/06)

Vieira enjoyed a brilliant career at Arsenal, winning three league titles

Arsenal drew Juventus in the quarter-finals of their memorable 2005/06 Champions League campaign. It was a mouthwatering spectacle with Juventus considered heavy favorites, sitting pretty at the top of the Serie A table while Arsenal were having an indifferent season, battling for 4th place with North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Arsenal did come into the clash in good European form, having dumped out European 'galacticos' Real Madrid 1-0 in the previous round.

To add to the excitement, the Gunners faced their former captain and 'invincible' Patrick Vieira after he moved to the Italian giants in the summer of 2005 for a hefty fee of £13.75 million. However, it was Arsenal who had the last laugh, producing a scintillating showing for the Highbury crowd in the first leg.

18-year-old wonderkid Cesc Fabregas stole the show, scoring with a brilliant low-strike from the edge of the box before turning provider for Thierry Henry to make it 2-0 to the hosts.

'The Old Lady' finished the first leg with nine men after both Camoranesi and Zebina were given second yellow cards and subsequently red cards in the closing embers of the game.

The second leg ended goalless, with the main highlight of the game being Juventus' Czech maestro Pavel Nedved seeing red in the 77th minute for a second yellow card after a foul on Arsenal's Emmanuel Eboue.

In the end, the North London club showed their defensive solidity, keeping their 8th clean sheet in the same Champions League campaign, surpassing AC Milan's previous record.

The result was a historic one for Arsenal who found themselves in the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time in their history.