New manager to face Arsenal in his 1st game in charge

GNK Dinamo have appointed Fabio Cannavaro as their new manager, and the former Italy international’s first competitive game in charge will be against Arsenal.

Croatian club GNK Dinamo have confirmed the appointment of Fabio Cannavaro as their new manager, with the World Cup winner set to take charge of his new club on January 3rd, 2025.

The timing is noteworthy for Arsenal, with Dinamo not set to play another competitive fixture until their Champions League clash at the Emirates Stadium on January 22nd.

Croatian football is currently on its winter break, so Dinamo don’t have any domestic matches in the meantime.

Dinamo will at least have a couple of warm-up games before Arsenal, playing friendlies against Polish sides Lech Poznan and Jagiellonia Bialystok. But Cannavaro’s first competitive test will be in north London.

Before taking over at Dinamo, Cannavaro spent time managing in Saudi Arabia and China, before returning to his native Italy with Benevento and then Udinese.

The manager helped Udinese to avoid relegation earlier this year, but he left the club immediately afterwards, and he’s been out a job since then.

Dinamo have been going through a difficult spell lately, winning just one of their last eight games, but they’ll hope the new manager can inspire them to turn things around.

Sitting 24th in the Champions League table, the club still have a chance to qualify for the knockout stages. The top 24 of 36 teams avoid elimination, with the top eight getting a bye to the round-of-16.

Arsenal will be desperate to secure that top-eight finish to clear up their schedule a little, so both teams have a lot to play for on January 22nd.