The Yak has netted five times against Arsene Wenger’s side during his career and wants to add to his tally on the biggest stage of them all.

The former Blackburn, Everton and Middlesbrough striker has never played at Wembley and is hoping to grace the hallowed turf for the first time this Saturday.

Yakubu scored 95 Premier League goals, 11 more than Cristiano Ronaldo netted in England’s top flight, and now he’s hoping to fire Reading to the FA Cup final.

“It’s going to be a special day,” he said. “I never thought I’d have the opportunity to play at Wembley. It’s going to be great and I’m looking forward to it.

“I always score against Arsenal. When you play against Arsenal you have to be ready and focused. Any mistake and they’ll punish you as they have great players.

“They’ve got loads of experience and they play for each other. They can pass the ball very well. We have to stick together, defend well and hopefully we can shock everyone.”

Yakubu’s only Reading goal so far came against Derby in the FA Cup fifth round, when he came off the bench to net nine minutes from time to send the Royals into the quarter-finals.

It would be quite a story if Yakubu came off the bench this Saturday to net against Arsenal for the first time since 2011 – and the 32-year-old says he has a little extra motivation to shoot down the Gunners.

“Four of my friends are coming over for the game but they support Arsenal,” he laughed. “I always give them tickets to watch when I play Arsenal and they always say they want my team to lose, but for me to score.

“They never want me to win as Arsenal are their team. About 60 per cent of people in Nigeria support Arsenal. Even when Nigerian players are playing Arsenal they want Arsenal to win and my friends are the same with me.

“I tease them when Arsenal lose and I’ll send them a text asking if their team won and they go crazy with me. It’s all good fun.”

Yakubu has found his playing time limited since Steve Clarke brought him to the club, starting just three games and making seven appearances from the bench.

He said: “It is tough. As a player you want to play and I do my best when I come on. I played (in the 1-1 draw) against Blackpool and I’m ready to go. All you can do is be ready when called upon.”