Nurnberg vs Arsenal. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats and more

What can we expect this Thursday night? Parimatch News will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.

Nurnberg News & Current Form:

FC Nurnberg, founded 123 years ago, has a great history and in its trophy cabinet can boast 9 German top league titles, although the best times in the club’s lore are far behind them. The Red-Blacks last won the championship in 1968, after which they captured the national cup in 2007, but, unfortunately, their heroic deeds ended there.

All last seasons they have been playing in the second strongest German division, and for the last 5 years the light at the end of the tunnel was not visible, with the average position in the league during this period being 13.4 (literally a few steps away from the relegation zone). Last season they finished only 14th in the standings, leaving them just five points ahead of the exit to the lower league. If it wasn’t for the breakthrough at the finish of the 22/23 campaign (4 matches without defeat), Hecking’s wards would have to be struggling much harder for survival.

The new season is about to start, so the Germans are not losing time preparing for the new campaign by playing friendlies. In the summer, Nurnberg already had three test matches, in which they beat Pardubice and Diósgyőri VTK 1:0 and 3:1, respectively, while Hartberg were held to a 2:2 draw. Now London Arsenal, who come to Germany for the second year in a row, are next in line. A headstrong team will test the strength of the hosts, becoming a litmus test for the new Old Masters coach as to the current state of affairs and the necessary changes required.

In the 23/24, the folks from the 50,000-seat Max-Morlock-Stadion will be looking to climb to the top of the standings. No wonder, because not so long ago the team enjoyed the evenings in the elite. Yet, the club’s resources are extremely modest: the total cost of the squad is estimated at €18.93m, which is 169.08 crores INR (8th among the league’s most expensive). As things stand now, the Legends can only afford to strengthen the squad by bringing in free agents or through loan agreements. And a bit of optimism is fuelled by the signing of striker Daichi Hayashi on 1-year loan, making him now nominally the most expensive player in 1 FCN. 

A logical boost considering it’s the attacking line that lets the team down: 0.94 goals scored on average, which is the worst 2. Bundesliga. Who knows, maybe it will be Cristian Fiél who will be the catalyst for the long-awaited success that will lead the team out of stagnation.

Cristian Fiél, the newly appointed head coach of 1. FC Nürnberg, shares on his first weeks:

“It was a smooth first three weeks because everyone pitched in well from day one. That is the most important thing. When you come together as a new group, it is essential that you find each other quickly. That has worked out very well so far.”

says the 43-year-old  looking back on what has already been an eventful and intense time. 

“Everyone has to be open and responsive to each other. After all, everyone has their quirks. I probably have the most. You have to be able to deal with that. The decisive thing is that you communicate a lot. I’m not someone who says I invented everything and that’s how it works. Otherwise, I would have done something else where I work alone. At the end of the day, the decisions have to be made by me and that’s what I want to do. But always in consultation with my closest confidants who sit in the office with me every day.” 

The future is getting a little less cloudy for fans from the namesake town.

Arsenal News & Current Form: 

Arsenal made tremendous progress last season, yet the Gunners were still hugely disappointed to let the long-awaited English Premier League title slip from their grasp after 247 days at the top. However, the logic behind the 22/23 campaign exodus makes sense, as competing with a well-established and perfected machine like Manchester City, managed by the best coach in the world, Pep Guardiola, whilst receiving “endless” oil money, is an extremely difficult task. And Jurgen Klopp’s once monstrous Liverpool will not lie: the Reds have managed to break the 90+ point ceiling three times in the last 5 seasons, and have only captured the league once. That’s an incredible level of competition.

What did Arsenal lack for 100% success? Certainly the depth of the squad. Injuries to players have put the Spanish coach in a tricky situation, such as replacing the most important element of the team – William Saliba – with Rob Holding. Because of this, the club lost the ability to play with a high defensive line, to impose their own scenario with all the confidence at the back – and the decline in results was not long in coming. Such cases happened a lot during the season.

A club with such standards has to do everything to avoid being in this circumstance again. And that’s exactly what Arteta is doing, in conjunction with Edu Gaspar, with the huge support of the management. The main task according to them is to keep the most talented players at the club, while creating a quality bench by signing new players and involving top talents from the youth team.

And as we can see, everything is going according to plan. The Red and Whites have retained almost all of their leaders by extending all the crucial contracts one by one, with the latest news being that the aforementioned William Saliba (estimated cost €65.00m), as well as Reiss Nelson (€12.00m), have remained committed to North London for at least another 4 years. 

“I think we can achieve everything. Of course, it’s easy to say this, but we have the coach, we have the character, we have the players and every year the team gets stronger. We have better players with a good mentality. We have a good experience from the last season as well. We know that the season is so long. So we are confident and we know we can do something good at this club.”

says 22-year-old Saliba.

Nelson and Saliba celebrating after the match

Hale End product Nelson is also confident in the Red-and-White future:

“It’s just the way we played last season. I’ve been here for many years, I’ve been here the good years and bad years, and last year especially, I’ve seen the rise that Arsenal have taken. Taking them to new heights and I feel like I want to be part of the journey. I want to be part of us going to the next level, which I think the boss, Edu, the backroom staff and the new players and the current players are making. So it was a train I really didn’t want to miss and I want to be here for it, so I’m glad that I made the right decision.”

Moreover, the Gunners managed to retain a much-appreciated talent from the academy – Ethan Nwaneri – despite the tremendous efforts of Manchester City and Chelsea to lure him away. 

The departed shadow-captain Granit Xhaka described the reasons why this is a huge victory for the Cannoneers to secure the services of the rising world-class talent Nwaneri who is only 16 years old as of now: 

“He looks old when I see him, but the club can be proud of a player like him. He has a big future. I am doing my coaching license and I have trained the under-16s. You can see a big difference with him and the other guys. He is very, very special. You have to protect him as he is very young but if he keeps going like this with his hard work he has a big, big future.”

It is reported that Arteta has promoted the player to the first team and has taken the player on a pre-season tour.

At the same time, the club is extremely active in the transfer market, focusing on bringing in exceptional talent. The Londoners have already signed the first-choice player of direct rival Chelsea – Kai Havertz. 

“I think Havertz could still be one of the greatest players of his generation. Arsenal have sealed an absolute cracker of a deal with Havertz. I’m really confident that Mikel Arteta will be able to get the best out of him as well.”  

shares the Chelsea and Scotland Legend Pat Nevin. 

“Arsenal’s team for next season is already looking extremely good. I think replacing Granit Xhaka in midfield as well is a big upgrade. While I think Chelsea may have got the better deal in terms of selling Mount, I think Arsenal have got the better deal by signing Havertz… we still have not seen the best of him.”

he added. 

“The aim is to win trophies and I’m going to give everything to do that for the supporters and everyone at the club.”

says Havertz.

The loudness of declaring ambitions at the expense of another signing – West Ham’s captain Declan Rice – cannot be overstated. The England midfielder, who will become the most expensive England transfer in history (£105m), is half a step away from joining the Gunners. 

That said, another talented diamond, Jurrien Timber from AFC Ajax, is on the way. The transfer progression is rated at the same 90%, with the value for money and the received functionality coupled with his versatility being astounding. For around £40m, Arsenal will get an inverted fullback on the right wing in the likeness of Oleksandr Zinchenko.

“Jurrien Timber has just successfully completed his medical tests as a new Arsenal player.”

Fabrizio Romano states.

Arsenal are also looking to sign at least two more players beyond that, with departures are also expected in addition to Granit Xhaka, Pablo Mari and Ainsley Maitland-Niles. Will the Red and Whites be able to mount a serious challenge for the championship again – probably yes. Whether the club will have enough resources to fight in all tournaments including the UEFA Champions League – time will tell. In the meantime, Mikel Arteta will get another chance to sharpen his mechanism in the match against Nuremberg.

Don`t miss out 👉: 5 Players Arsenal could sign ahead of the 2023-24 Premier League Season

Nurnberg form guide (friendlies): W-D-W

Arsenal form guide (friendlies): D

Nurnberg vs Arsenal Head-To-Head Record: 

Nurnberg vs Arsenal Predicted XI:

Nurnberg’s possible starting lineup (4-4-2): Wintzheimer; Gyamerah, Lawrence, Gurleyen, Handwerker; Geis, Duman; Castrop, Okunuki, Hayashi; Duah.

Arsenal’s possible starting lineup (4-3-3): Ramsdale; White, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney; Jorginho, Odegaard, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Trossard.

Statistical preview of the match Nurnberg vs Arsenal:

• In 13 of the last 16 Arsenal matches, the total goal-scoring mark of 2.5 goals has been exceeded. 
• Arsenal have scored at least two goals in 12 of their last 16 matches.
• Nurnberg’s 10 most recent matches have seen 2.3 goals scored, while for Arsenal the figure is 3.9 
• In the last 10 matches, Nurnberg have exchanged goals on 4 occasions, while Arsenal have scored and conceded on 6 occasions.

Nurnberg vs Arsenal Prediction:

Going into this friendly, there’s a 60-fold difference in the squad values, what does that tell us? Perhaps, that the chances of a modest German club are extremely slim. Fighting against the second most expensive side in the world seems to be far too difficult a task for a club that is barely hanging on in the second German division.

However, there is no need to go into total defence, and there is a good chance to try out their players in a bold attacking model, especially as they need to integrate and establish new striker Daichi Hayashi into the system. 

On the other hand, given the idealism of Mikel Arteta, he will clearly be setting the task of giving 120% even if he releases the reserves while attempting some sort of experiment.

Don`t miss out 👉: Revealing The Complete 2023/24 Pre-season Schedule Of Europe’s Top Clubs: All You Need To Know In One Place

Parimatch News staff prediction:

We say: Arsenal will win with an individual total of more than 2,5 – Yes.