Vorskla Poltava coach Vasyl Sachko will take his players on a stroll through London before their Europa League clash with Arsenal – but insists the match will be no walk in the park for the Gunners.
Sachko’s side finished a distant third in the Ukrainian Premier League last season and have only previously featured in European competition on two occasions.
Arsenal, who reached the semi-finals last season, will be expected to breeze past their little-known opponents on Thursday even if head coach Unai Emery makes changes to his side.
Poltava arrived in London late on Wednesday afternoon and Sachko was keen to let his players take in the sights before heading to the Emirates Stadium, with the 43-year-old himself looking forward to a first look at the capital.
“We have a planned stroll for the team,” he said. “We are not here as tourists, we are here to play, but we will have a walk around tomorrow as part of our warm-up.
“I have never been here as a fan, I haven’t been here once but the impressions are the best they could be.”
Sachko openly admits his side are huge underdogs heading into the contest but vowed they will give their all to upset the odds.
“Our club is writing history, writing history for our city and that is a huge honour for us,” he said.
“Our objective is to get the players to understand this. Our team is playing against Arsenal, we understand we are a modest club. We don’t have any stars in our team.
“We haven’t come here just for a stroll in the park, we understand that Arsenal are the favourites but nevertheless our team is capable of pulling off this feat.
“Arsenal are not a Europa League team, they are a Champions League team. We are going to motivate our players to play well and give a good account of themselves.”