Nwankwo Kanu was often left wondering whether he would be starting games for Arsenal, given he made nearly half of his Gunners appearances from the bench.

But that lack of clarity got the better of the Nigerian at the start of Arsenal Legends' game against Milan Glorie, as he lined up for kick-off despite being named as one of Arsene Wenger's substitutes.

In true Kanu style, though, he still ensured he stamped his mark on the game, even from the bench, as he struck a hat-trick in a 4-2 win to prompt chants of 'sign him up' from the Emirates crowd.

Arsenal looked as if they were trying to start their legends game with AC Milan with 12 players

But Gilberto Silva escorted Nwankwo Kanu off the pitch before the start of the game

Kanu thought he was supposed to be started before he came off before kick-off

He clearly retains the confidence he showed during his playing days as, having promised a hat-trick prior to the game, Kanu made a point at reminding the club's Twitter account that he'd delivered on his promise in a post-game video clip.

The Nigerian made 104 starts and 94 substitute appearances during his four-and-a-half years at Highbury, with his 44 goals enough to earn him a spot in the all-star side to play against a Milan team packed with some of European football's greatest names.

But a sense of bewilderment swept across the pitch as referee Howard Webb looked to bring the teams to order, as the man with the whistle spotted 12 players trying to start the game at the Emirates.

Arsene Wenger saw the funny side as he watched the incident from the substitutes bench

Kanu had the last laugh, though as he came off the bench and scored a hat-trick

TEAMS Arsenal Legends 4 AC Milan Glorie 2 Arsenal: Seaman, Hoyte, Toure, Keown, Winterburn, Parlour, Petit, Gilberto, Overmars, Pires, Ljungberg Subs: Lehmann, Cygan, Limpar, Grimandi, Boa Morte, Kanu AC Milan: Abbiati, Cafu, Costacurta, Favalli, Serginho, Desailly Ambrosini, Boban, Albertini, Di Canio, Vieri Subs: Dida, Maldini, Massaro, Simone, Ba, Carbone, Simic, Eranio, Pancaro Advertisement

Wenger and the rest of the Arsenal bench saw the funny side as the likes of Freddie Ljungberg, Robert Pires and Emmanuel Petit tried to root out the rogue starter, but it was left to midfielder Gilberto Silva to escort a clearly frustrated Kanu back to the bench.

He may have heard it all before having played under Wenger for more than four years, but perhaps Kanu should listen to his former boss's team talks a little more closely.

Despite the confusion he was soon in the thick of the action, though, as he stepped off the bench and converted Petit's cross just moments after coming on, leveling the match in the 27th minute.

Arsenal eventually won the game 4-2, with Kanu completing his treble from the penalty spot with 10 minutes to go before Pires added the fourth. Christian Vieri scored both Milan goals.

The game, played in front of a packed crowd at the Emirates, raised £1million for the Arsenal Foundation and gave the home fans the chance to sees invincibles Jen Lehmann, Pascal Cygan, Kolo Toure, Ray Parlour, Nigel Winterburn and Sportsmail's own Martin Keown together again.

The game also saw the likes of Paolo Maldini, Alesandro Costacurta, Zvonimir Boban and Daniele Massaro take to the field together once again for AC Milan.

The Milan side was managed by former England manager Fabio Capello, while Wenger's long-time former assistant, Pat Rice, returned to the dugout alongside the Frenchman.