Red Devil gunning for Arsenal

Self-confessed Manchester United fan Jamie Hop cutt has an extra incentive to help Ostersund write another chapter in their remarkable recent history by sinking Arsenal in the Europa League last 32.

The Swedish minnows – managed by former York defender Graham Potter and only formed in October 1996, the same month Arsene Wenger became Arsenal manager – have landed the two-legged showdown with the Gunners after making it through to the knockout stages for the first time.

And the draw could not have been better for former York player Hop cutt, a ex-Old Trafford season ticket holder who has swapped loan spells at Whitby and Stokesley for one of the continent’s biggest competitions.

Hop cutt said: “I’m a big Man United fan – my granddad and dad both went and I had a season ticket for three years as a kid – so if we could go there and knock Arsenal out of Europe it would be amazing.”

Hop cutt took the decision to swap the non-league nether regions for Sweden six years ago, and his arrival coincided with a remarkable rise for Ostersund, who Potter steered from the Swedish fourth division to the top-ranked Allsvenskan in six years.

Last 32 draw: Borussia Dortmund v Atalanta, Nice v Lokomotiv Moscow, FC Copenhagen v Atletico Madrid, Spartak Moscow v Athletic Bilbao, AEK Athens v Dynamo Kiev, Celtic v Zenit St Petersburg, Napoli v RB Leipzig, Red Star Belgrade v CSKA Moscow, Lyon v Villarreal, Real Sociedad v Red Bull Salzburg, Partizan Belgrade v Viktoria Plzen, Steaua Bucharest v Lazio, Ludogorets v AC Milan, Astana v Sporting Lisbon, FK Ostersunds v Arsenal, Marseille v Braga.

Arsene Wenger: facing a team formed the same year he took the Arsenal reins.