Arsenal have been handed a potentially difficult task in the last-16 of the Europa League after being drawn to face seven-times European champions Milan.
Arsène Wenger’s side were relieved to edge past Swedish side Östersund on Thursday after losing 2-1 in the second leg and their reward will be a meeting with the team they last met at the same stage of the Champions League in 2012. On that occasion, a disastrous 4-0 defeat at San Siro in the first leg virtually ended Arsenal’s hopes of reaching the last eight although they won the home leg 3-0.
Milan, who spent more than £150m on new players last summer in an attempt to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since the 2013-14 season, have struggled this season in Serie A and are currently seventh – eight points behind Lazio in fourth place. Gennaro Gattuso has steadied the ship since, overseeing a run of four straight matches including two 1-0 victories over Bulgarians Ludogorets in the previous round.
The first leg will take place at the San Siro on 8 March, with the return at the Emirates a week later.
Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund will face Red Bull Salzburg and Atlético Madrid take on Lokomotiv Moscow. Lazio meet Dynamo Kyiv, RB Leipzig have been drawn against Celtic’s conquerors Zenit St Petersburg, CSKA Moscow face Lyon – who will be hosting this year’s final – while fellow Ligue 1 side Marseille tackle Athletic Bilbao and Sporting play Viktoria Plzen.
It is an interesting draw for Peter Stöger, the Austrian manager of Borussia Dortmund. His side will do battle with FC Salzburg. Stöger was the last man to lead a team other than Salzburg to the Austrian title, in 2012-13 with Austria Wien.
Borussia Dortmund beat Atalanta in the round of 32. Photograph: Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images
Arsenal’s fixtures make exciting, if a little daunting, reading. They face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday before doing battle again next Thursday. Then it’s Brighton away before a trip to Milan. The Italian side have though won on their last six visits to England, following a 1-0 win at Old Trafford in 2004-5.
Concrete jungle. Photograph: Marco Luzzani/Getty Images
Arsenal and Milan are sixth and seventh-place respectively in their domestic leagues, but it is sure to be a humdinger of a draw. It feels it, anyway. That night at the Emirates, six years ago, was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s announcement on the big stage:
The last time they met, in March 2012, Arsenal won 3-0, thanks to goals from Koscielny, Rosicky and van Persie. But, it was Milan who went through in the Champions League on aggregate after a crushing 4-0 at San Siro. Since 1995, they have met six times, with two draws, and two wins apiece.
Well, how about that? Arsenal, who scraped past Östersund on Thursday evening at the Emirates, will travel to Milan, who knocked out Ludogorets in the round of 32.
Lazio v Dynamo Kiev RB Leipzig v Zenit St Petersburg Atletico Madrid v Lokomotiv Moscow CSKA v Lyon Marseille v Athletic Bilbao Sporting Lisbon v Viktoria Plzen Borussia Dortmund v FC Salzburg Milan v Arsenal
And here comes the local ambassador. Who else but Éric Abidal, who is ready to play his part in plucking out the names in Nyon. “Lyon played two fantastic matches against Villarreal but deserved the results,” he says.
Uefa’s deputy general secretary Giorgio Marchetti, suited and booted, is speaking. “We are profoundly saddened by the tragic events in Bilbao,” he says, before congratulating the 16 teams on reaching this stage of the competition. “The adventure continues.”
“Uefa takes this opportunity to condemn these deplorable acts of violence,” begins the draw coverage. That was after those unsavoury scenes in Bilbao on Thursday:
When will the games take place? The last-16 matches will be played on 8 and 15 March, although all of that will become a lot clearer inside the next hour. For those daring to dream, or pre-empting things by booking holiday off work, the final will take place in Lyon on 16 May.
Who will Arsenal want to avoid? Atlético Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, for starters. “It looks like the level is high,” Wenger said last night. “You have some Russian teams, you have French teams, German teams. Overall, I believe that the competition will become tougher and tougher, so let’s hope we have a good draw.”
Atlético Madrid celebrate victory over Copenhagen in the round of 32. Photograph: Denis Doyle/Getty Images
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