Facing Arsenal is like ‘David against 10 Goliaths’
Arsene Wenger has been leading Arsenal for longer than Ostersund have been in existence, so you could understand why the Swedes’ manager, Graham Potter, thinks even the term “David versus Goliath fixture” does not do the clubs’ Europa League tie justice.
“It is David and about 10 Goliaths,” he told The Daily Telegraph after yesterday’s draw. “There are only 50,000 people in Ostersund. There are more that fit into the Emirates on a Saturday. It puts things into context – it’s a fairy tale.”
It certainly is and the author also just happens to be the one English manager left this season in European competition. Potter was what might be labelled a journeyman as a player for Birmingham, Wycombe, Stoke, West Brom, Northampton, Reading, Southampton, York, Boston, Shrewsbury and Macclesfield, but is something akin to a miracle worker in Sweden.
Ostersund were in the fourth division of the Swedish league when he arrived in 2011, having never previously risen above the third tier, but Potter has inspired three promotions and, last season, their first trophy, the Swedish Cup.
This is their first appearance in Europe, where Galatasaray and Hertha Berlin have been scalps. The first weather warnings have already been sounded.
“See you at Jamtkraft Arena in February!” said the club’s Twitter account following a message from Arsenal, before cheekily adding: “Please make sure that Wenger has fixed his jacket before travelling, it’s going to be cold.”
“I have known it to be -18C and two-foot snow, or it can be OK,” said Potter. “It is quite unpredictable. It will be cold, I imagine, and probably a unique experience for them.”
The Europa League has capped a remarkable year. “Incredible – 2017, for us, is going to go down in history, I think. So much has happened. To draw Arsenal just seems fitting to round it off. The words fairy tale have been used quite a lot, but it is.”
Potter’s wider strategy might seem relatively conventional – to galvanise team spirit and place the football at the centre of the community – but the methods have been eye-catching. The team celebrated promotion to the top flight with their own production of Swan Lake, while Potter, himself, starred in a concert at the end of last year.
“We thought of cultural activities as a way of taking players out of their comfort zone and building team spirit,” he explained. “When you involve the community in that, they get interested.”