The 27-year-old, also a two-time European champion, lay in second place with team mates Alexander Rödiger, Kevin Korona and Ben Heber at the halfway stage overnight, as the Latvian sled piloted by Oskars Melbārdis led.

But the Olympic silver medallists slipped down the standings after an error in the final run and were overhauled by two German teams, with Arndt's experience proving too much for his rivals.

World Championship debutant Nico Walther, who rose from fourth overnight, took silver, along with team mates Andreas Bredau, Marko Hübenbecker and Christian Poser.

Melbārdis, supported by Daumants Dreiskens, Arvis Vilkaste and Janis Strenga, had to settle for bronze, just five hundredths of a second ahead of yet another German team, driven by two-man world champion Francesco Friedrich.

There were wild celebrations from the home crowd as Germany secured home World Championship success ©Bongarts/Getty Images



The performance represented a massive return to form for the German squad, just 12 months after the European nation went without a four-man medal at Sochi 2014, the first time they had done so at a Winter Olympics for half a century.

"I knew beforehand that it was going to be a close contest," said a delighted Arndt afterwards.

"I really wanted to take the title.

"Now it's time to celebrate."

The event brought the two-week long International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation World Championships to an end, with the host nation finishing top of the medals table with three titles in a nine medal haul.

Latvia, Great Britain and United States each picked up one gold medal apiece, while Russia and Canada also managed podium finishes. 

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