Arsenal have reportedly invited Austrian side LASK Linz to London Colney for a pre-Europa League final friendly, and could come face-to-face with a former Premier League hard man in the game.
Reports in Austria claim that the Gunners have arranged to fly over the Austrian Bundesliga side in order to keep them match-fit ahead of the Baku showdown with Premier League rivals Chelsea on May 29.
Unai Emery is eager for his players not to lose focus during the 17-day break between their final Premier League game of the season away at Burnley and the game in Azerbaijan, where he could win the Europa League for the fourth time.
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But the Spanish boss will be desperate not to suffer the same fate as Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri, who saw Ruben Loftus-Cheek pick up a serious injury in their post-season friendly against New England Revolution in Massachusetts last week.
Loftus-Cheek ruptured his Achilles tendon and faces spending much of next season on the sidelines .
Linz - who will finish second in their league, behind Red Bull Salzburg - face Austria Vienna in their final league match of the season on Sunday, and so it is unclear what their squad will look like for the game on Thursday at London Colney.
But one man who could feature is 36-year-old former Middlesbrough and West Ham defender Emanuel Pogatetz, who has earned the nickname 'Mad Dog' during his long career.
A no-nonsense defender, hard man Pogatetz - who played a 153 games for Boro - was known for his tough approach to the game during his time in England.
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When playing for Boro in a League Cup match against Manchester United at Old Trafford in 2008, Pogatetz was sent off for a challenge on United youngster Rodrigo Possebon which incensed Sir Alex Ferguson.
"Pogatetz should have walked straight off," said Ferguson.
"At least [Boro's manager] Gareth Southgate apologised at the final whistle. He was very good, he realised the gravity of it and he was very, very apologetic.
"But, oh, what a dreadful tackle. When you see it, dearie me, it's horrendous. For 10 minutes afterwards, I think everyone was numb about it."
