In a rather bizarre turn of events, Arsenal’s hopes of victory against German second-tier side Nuremberg were dashed by an own goal from Jorginho, resulting in a 1-1 draw at the Max-Morlock Stadion.
Heading into the match, Mikel Arteta’s squad aimed to replicate their success from last year’s friendly encounter, in which they emerged victorious with a 5-3 scoreline. The game started off positively for the Gunners as Bukayo Saka executed a precise strike, giving them the lead. However, things quickly took a strange turn midway through the second half.
Arteta opted for a strong starting lineup for the game, featuring William Saliba, who had fully recovered from a previous back issue that had sidelined him for the last two months of the 2022-23 season. Unfortunately, captain Martin Odegaard suffered a knock during warm-up and was replaced by Fabio Vieira. Regardless, Arsenal maintained control of the game and managed to break the deadlock just eight minutes later.
A well-placed ball over the top from Ben White found Saka racing down the right flank. The talented Englishman skillfully cut inside and unleashed a powerful left-footed shot, finding the far corner of the net with precision and finesse. Despite their dominance, the Gunners failed to extend their lead before halftime. As expected, Arteta made numerous changes to his lineup for the second half, including giving summer signing Kai Havertz his unofficial debut.
However, it was two other substitutes who would ultimately be at fault for Nuremberg’s equalizing goal. In the 62nd minute, goalkeeper Karl Hein ventured out of his area and played a short pass to the under-pressure Jorginho, who inexplicably rolled the ball back into his own empty net. It was a perplexing mistake that left everyone stunned.
Hein nearly gifted Nuremberg the winner in the 74th minute, as he parried a speculative strike from Ali Loune into the path of Christoph Daferner, who unfortunately struck the woodwork instead of finding the back of the net.
To cap off the strange game, Folarin Balogun had an opportunity to seal victory for Arsenal, but he missed an open goal after skillfully evading Carl Klaus. With this unexpected result, Arsenal now turn their attention to their upcoming trip to the United States to face the MLS All-Stars, Manchester United, and Barcelona.