Where are they now? The Arsenal XI that lost the 2006 Champions League final | OneFootball

The first Champions League final in Arsenal‘s history ended in heartbreak. Twenty years on from their last appearance on the biggest stage in club football, can Mikel Arteta’s men exorcise the demons from Paris?

Despite taking the lead through Sol Campbell, Arsene Wenger’s side were ultimately undone by a second-half comeback from Barcelona. The Gunners had played over 70 minutes with 10 men after Jens Lehmann’s early red card, but they came agonisingly close to lifting European football’s biggest prize.

Two decades later, we’ve checked in on the starting XI and substitutes who featured for Wenger’s Gunners that night.

GK: Jens Lehmann

We’re off to a roaring start.

The eccentric German ‘keeper has led a quiet life since hanging up his gloves following a brief return to Arsenal in 2011… Yeah, right.

Lehmann has made headlines for being fined €135,000 by a court in Germany for damaging his neighbour’s garage with a chainsaw. Of course he did.

On the pitch, he’s served as a goalkeeping coach at Arsenal, an assistant at Augsburg and a board member at Hertha Berlin.

He’s done a bit of punditry work most recently, and worked as a coach in the Baller League.

RB: Emmanuel Eboue

With Lauren struggling with injuries, Eboue took his chance under Wenger and became a cult favourite at Arsenal.

After leaving in 2011, the Ivorian spent four years at Galatasaray before a brief, appearance-free spell at Sunderland. He retired in 2016.

Since then, Eboue has occasionally made headlines over reports about his finances following a divorce, claims he has repeatedly denied.

He is no longer involved in football but still makes occasional media appearances.

CB: Kolo Toure

A fan favourite at numerous clubs, Toure saw out his playing career at Celtic and went straight into coaching, learning the ropes under Brendan Rodgers.

The former defender was appointed Wigan Athletic’s manager in November 2022 but he only lasted a couple of months in the job.

He served as part of Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff at Man City this season but has departed the club alongside the Catalan coach.

LB: Ashley Cole

After one of the most controversial departures in Arsenal history, Cole went on to enjoy a hugely successful career. No player in the history of the FA Cup has lifted the trophy more times, with seven between Arsenal and Chelsea.

The left-back won every major club honour with Chelsea before later spells in Italy and the United States. He retired in 2019 and quickly moved into coaching.

After working with England’s youth teams and assisting Lee Carsley, Cole took his first senior management role with Cesena in Serie B.

RM: Robert Pires (Manuel Almunia, ’18)

Substituted after Jens Lehmann’s red card in one of football’s most ruthless tactical decisions, Pires was denied the Arsenal farewell he deserved.

It’s wild to think that was the Arsenal legend’s final appearance for the club, and you wonder if it factored into his decision to leave.

“I have to say I have had some disappointments this season. For instance, I was on the bench very often,” he explained of his decision to leave.

The Frenchman went on to enjoy four productive years at Villarreal before more forgettable spells with Aston Villa and FC Goa. While coaching never appealed, he’s remained close to the game and is now involved with the Baller League alongside several former Arsenal team-mates.

Almunia, meanwhile, stayed Arsenal’s first-choice goalkeeper for several years before finishing his career at Watford. A heart condition forced his retirement in 2014, but he made a full recovery and has largely kept a low profile since.

DM: Gilberto Silva

After leaving Arsenal in 2008, Gilberto added to his trophy haul by winning the Greek double with Panathinaikos and the Copa Libertadores with Atletico Mineiro in 2013.

Rather than move into coaching, he built a media career with ESPN and the BBC and now serves as an ambassador for FIFA and Arsenal.

CM: Cesc Fabregas (Mathieu Flamini, ’74)

Just 18 when he ran the show at the Bernabeu en route to this final, Fabregas ranks among the finest teenage talents the game has seen.

While most major trophies eluded him at Arsenal, he later won league titles with Barcelona and Chelsea, plus a World Cup and two European Championships with Spain.

After ending his playing career at Como, he now manages the club in Serie A, and has done a remarkable job of leading them into the Champions League at the expense of Italian football’s traditional powerhouses AC Milan and Juventus.

Flamini’s post-football story is arguably even more remarkable. The former midfielder reportedly became one of the wealthiest ex-players in the game through a hugely successful biochemicals company he co-founded, putting most footballers’ business ventures in the shade.

There have been reports that the former France international is a billionaire, but they’re worth taking with a pinch of salt.

LM: Alexander Hleb (Jose Antonio Reyes, ’85)

One of four players from this XI to later join Barcelona, Hleb never truly settled at the Camp Nou. He played into his late thirties, returning to BATE Borisov on four separate occasions.

Reyes tragically died in a car crash in 2019 at the age of 35 while still playing professionally for Extremadura.

“I am devastated to hear the terrible news about Jose,” Wenger responded in a statement at the time.

“To his family and friends, all support from everyone in the Arsenal family. He will remain forever in our hearts.”

SS: Freddie Ljungberg

After a failed spell at West Ham, Ljungberg spent the final years of his career playing for clubs in MLS, Scotland and Japan before briefly coming out of retirement for the Indian Super League in 2014.

He returned to Arsenal as a youth coach in 2016, later serving as caretaker manager before Mikel Arteta’s arrival.

More recently, he’s been involved in the Baller League alongside Lehmann and Pires.

ST: Thierry Henry

The image of Henry sitting disconsolately on the Stade de France turf after the final whistle remains one of the defining images of Arsenal’s modern history. Twenty years later – can they exorcise that demon in Budapest?

The Gunners’ all-time greatest player left for Barcelona in 2007 and finally got his hands on the Champions League trophy two years later.

The goals kept flowing wherever he went, whether at Barca, the New York Red Bulls or during a brief emotional return to Arsenal in 2012. But he was never quite as good anywhere else as

Since hanging up his boots, Henry worked extensively as a pundit before moving into coaching, managing Monaco and Montreal while also serving as Roberto Martinez’s assistant with Belgium.

Most recently, he guided France to a silver medal at the Paris Olympics and still gets the odd mention when vacancies come up.

We’re not sure if coaching is his future, though, given his natural charisma as a pundit in front of the camera. He seems most at home chatting waffle alongside Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards in the CBS Sports studio.