Florentin Pogba declares Arsenal ‘club of his heart’

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

Florentin Pogba has declared Arsenal "the club of my heart" as he prepares to face brother Paul in the Europa League.

Florentin, a 26-year-old Guinea international, will play for Saint-Etienne when they travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United in the last 32 of the Europa League.

It will be the first time he and Paul have played either with or against each other in a professional football match.

Speaking to The Guardian ahead of Thursday night's match, Florentin revealed his allegiance to one of United's biggest rivals.

“Arsenal are the club of my heart,” Florentin said. “I’ve supported them ever since the Invincibles – what a team!

"The downside of being a professional is you rarely get a chance to go to watch other teams so I’ve never actually been to the Emirates. But one day I will, hopefully.”

Will Florentin and Paul swap shirts at the end of Saint-Etienne's game against United?

“I’ve never asked a player to swap jerseys at the end of the game, although I do have some because when I’ve played against friends we’ve just sort of swapped spontaneously," Florentin added. "I think that after this game there’ll be a quite natural exchange of shirts.”