Twelve months on from playing out an eight-goal spectacular, Nuremberg and Arsenal renew hostilities for a friendly encounter at the Max-Morlock-Stadion on Thursday.
The hosts have gone unbeaten in their opening three pre-season contests, while Mikel Arteta's men drew 1-1 with Watford at London Colney over the weekend.
Match preview
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Nine-time champions of Germany between 1920 and 1968, Nuremberg have been consigned to life in the 2. Bundesliga for the past four years since a brief return to the Bundesliga in 2018-19 ended with a swift demotion.
Der Ruhmreiche's efforts to challenge for a spot back in the big time have ended in abject failure over the past few years, and they ended the 2022-23 campaign in a lowly 14th place, just five points better off than Arminia Bielefeld in the relegation playoff place and eight clear of the automatic demotion spots.
Nuremberg did manage to navigate their final four league games unbeaten - ending the campaign on a positive note with a 1-0 win over Paderborn - and Dieter Hecking has now handed control of the reins to his former assistant Cristian Fiel.
The 43-year-old's tenure has begun pleasantly, as Der Ruhmreiche have two wins and a draw to show from their first three pre-season matches, overcoming Pardubice and Diosgyor on home turf either side of a 2-2 stalemate away to Hartberg.
The visit of Arsenal actually represents Nuremberg's final pre-season fixture before they enjoy a two-week break ahead of the 2023-24 2. Bundesliga campaign, and if Thursday's game is anything akin to last year's scrap between the two sides, spectators are in for a treat.
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Rivals fans certainly took great pleasure in assigning Arsenal the 'bottlers' tag last season, as Arteta's side spent no fewer than 248 days at the top of the Premier League table, only to bow to Manchester City's superiority following a calamitous end-of-season collapse.
In doing so, the Gunners set a new unwanted record for the most time spent at the top of the Premier League table without winning the title, but few could have foreseen Arsenal going toe-to-toe with Man City for several months, especially when their number one goal was simply to break back into the top four.
However, a second-placed finish marked Arsenal's best-ever placement in the Premier League since the 2015-16 campaign, and the Champions League anthem will soon be blasted at full volume inside the Emirates on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, just reward for Arteta's admirable endeavours in North London over the past few years.
As mentioned, the Gunners have already taken to the turf at London Colney this summer to do battle with Watford, who took the lead through Ismael Kone before Marquinhos rescued a draw for Arsenal, and Arteta's side will soon fly out to the United States for blockbuster matches with the MLS All-Stars, Manchester United and Barcelona, before the latest iteration of the Emirates Cup against Monaco.
Owing to Manchester City's success in the league and FA Cup, a piece of silverware will be on offer for Arteta's side when they meet the Spaniard's former team in the Community Shield on August 6, before they commence Premier League duties at home to Nottingham Forest on August 12.
The North London giants enjoyed a brief stopover in Germany to face Nuremberg last year, and despite falling 2-0 down on the day, Arsenal came out on the correct end of a 5-3 scoreline thanks to Gabriel Jesus's brace, a pair of own goals and a trademark Mohamed Elneny spectacular.
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Team News
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Nuremberg have waved goodbye to no fewer than three strikers this summer, as Erik Shuranov has joined Israel giants Maccabi Tel Aviv, while Paul-Philipp Besong is now on the books with Borussia Dortmund's reserves.
Pascal Kopke has also departed for Duisburg, and Nuremberg have responded with the loan signing of Sint-Truiden's Daichi Hayashi, one of two Japanese players to join the club this summer alongside winger Kanji Okunuki.
A somewhat familiar name will be reuniting with Arsenal this week, as 11-cap Wales international James Lawrence - who spent two years in the Gunners' academy between 2001 and 2003 - should start in the heart of the hosts' backline, but former Huddersfield Town hero Christopher Schindler is recovering from a ruptured cruciate ligament.
Meanwhile, Arsenal have taken a strong contingent to Germany for Thursday's affair, including Takehiro Tomiyasu, Gabriel Martinelli, William Saliba, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Elneny, all of whom missed the end of the 2022-23 season through injury, but Albert Sambi Lokonga is sidelined.
Kai Havertz could be in line for his non-competitive debut this week following his £65m arrival from Chelsea, and Arsenal could confirm Jurrien Timber's arrival from Ajax prior to kickoff on Thursday, although the Dutchman will instead aim to make his mark in the Gunners' USA tour.
The same can be said of Declan Rice as Arsenal put the finishing touches on his British record £105m transfer, and promising prospects such as Reuell Walters, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri - the Premier League's youngest-ever player - will expect to earn some valuable first-team minutes here.
Nuremberg possible starting lineup:
Wintzheimer; Gyamerah, Lawrence, Gurleyen, Handwerker; Geis, Duman; Castrop, Okunuki, Hayashi; Duah
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Ramsdale; White, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney; Odegaard, Jorginho, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Trossard
We say: Nuremberg 1-4 Arsenal
While another eight-goal extravaganza is surely off the cards, a near full-strength Arsenal side can flaunt their attacking dominance at the Max-Morlock-Stadion before Arteta brings on his young guns for the second half.
With the likes of Havertz and plenty of fringe players seeking to lay down a marker ahead of the new campaign, we expect Arsenal to storm to a convincing win with a few goals to boot.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
