As it’s now just ONE MONTH TO GO until we take on the might of English Premier League giants Arsenal FC, we thought we’d have a little look at some of the strange little links between our two clubs. Here are a few things you may not know.
Tickets to Sydney FC vs Arsenal FC at ANZ Stadium on July 13th – kick off 8pm.
1. Former Sydney FC Head Coach John Kosmina is the only known Australian to have played a game for the Gunners. Kossie signed for Arsenal after impressing on Arsenal’s last tour of Australia 40 years ago, however managed only one league game and three in the UEFA Cup for the English club before returning to Oz.
2. Sydney FC assistant coach Steve Corica played under Arsenal legend Paul Merson when he was manager at Walsall.
3. Marquee striker and Johnny Warren medallist Milos Ninkovic played for Dynamo Kiev against Arsenal in the 2008 UEFA Champions League in Kiev and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Photo credit: Arsenal FC
4. Ninkovic was also in the 2010 Serbian World Cup team which played against Per Mertesacker and Mesut Ozil in the same group with Australia and Ghana.
5. Our central defender Alex Wilkinson played at the 2014 World Cup for Australia coming up against Chile and Alexis Sanchez, as well as Spain’s Santi Cazorla.
6. Sky Blues midfield David Carney played in an English League Cup game against Arsenal for Sheffield United in 2007, losing 3-0 at Bramall Lane.
7. Captain Alex Brosque was in the same squad as Arsenal legend Freddie Ljungberg for a season in Japan playing for Shimzu S-Pulse.
8. Arsenal keeper Petr Cech came down under with Chelsea two year ago and played Sydney FC in the very same ANZ Stadium and he could well repeat the journey.
9. Sydney FC goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne is a big Arsenal fan and even visited the Emirates for a stadium tour while on holiday this year.
