Östersund: still cold, still snowy

This Thursday, Arsenal travel to Sweden to play Östersunds FK in the Europa League round of 32, and they may want to go with the long-sleeved shirts for this one. Their opponents have kindly warned them about what sort of weather—and what sort of locker room—they can expect:

The snow and cold jokes surrounding this fixture are rather low-hanging fruit, but A+ for execution—someone took the time to build a tunnel, an atrium-type area, and a locker room with locker doors, shelves, and a big decorative star in the back out of snow and ice, and for that I applaud them.

In all seriousness, it’s going to be quite cold in Sweden on Thursday night. The ten-day forecast for Östersund has it well below freezing, with a low of 23 degrees Fahrenheit for Thursday, and with the wind it may feel like single digits. We can definitely expect long sleeves and gloves for the players, and the signature knee-length parka for Arsene Wenger, possibly with the hood up. The Gunners may also want to find out whether they can play in those fleecy neck things they wear in training.

At the time of publishing, it is snowing in Östersund, but that should stop before the match. It is unclear how Östersunds FK plan to clear their new tunnel of unwanted snow without also shoveling away the floor.