Europa League Draw 2017-18: Schedule of Dates for Group-Stage Fixtures
Arsenal will face BATE Borisov, Cologne and Red Star Belgrade in Group H of the 2017-18 UEFA Europa League, it was confirmed on Friday.
The draw for the group stage of the competition was made in Monaco, and Gunners boss Arsene Wenger will be satisfied with the outcome. Meanwhile, Premier League side Everton will take on Lyon, Atalanta and Apollon in a tough Group E.
AC Milan, another of the favourites for this prize, were put in Group D with Austria Vienna, Rijeka and AEK Athens.
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Read on for the draw in full.
Group A: Villarreal, Maccabi tel Aviv, Astana, Slavia Prague
Group B: Dynamo Kiev, Young Boys, Partizan Belgrade, Skenderbeu
Group C: Braga, Ludogorets, Hoffenheim, Istanbul Basaksehir
Group D: AC Milan, Austria Vienna, Rijeka, AEK Athens
Group E: Lyon, Everton, Atalanta, Apollon
Group F: Copenhagen, Lokomotiv Moscow, Sheriff, Zlin
Group G: Plzen, FCSB, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, Lugano
Group H: Arsenal, BATE Borisov, Cologne, Red Star Belgrade
Group I: Salzburg, Marseille, Vitoria, Konyaspor
Group J: Athletic Bilbao, Hertha Berlin, Zorya Luhansk, Ostersund
Group K: Lazio, Nice, Zulte Waregem, Vitesse
Group L: Zenit, Real Sociedad, Rosenborg, Vardar
Dates to follow
Arsenal
Having become so familiarised with the UEFA Champions League during his time in charge of Arsenal, it’ll be fascinating to see how Wenger approaches the Europa League.
Last season Manchester United showed how the competition can be negotiated with smart rotation and savvy tactics. You sense Wenger will seek to do the same, as he has one of the biggest squads in the competition.
As noted by MailOnline Sport, the Gunners have some testing Premier League fixtures to follow their European ties:
It’ll be interesting to see what players do get a runout for Arsenal in the fixtures against BATE Borisov, Cologne and Red Star Belgrade. With the Premier League set to be the primary focus for the Gunners this term, the likes of Alexandre Lacazette and Alexis Sanchez will surely be rotated.
The competition may be one in which Olivier Giroud can leave his mark. While the Frenchman has yet to start a game for the Gunners in the Premier League this season, these matches will represent opportunities and other players on the fringe to push for a starting spot.
But the Europa League brings different types of challenges to the Champions League and that’s something the players and manager will have to adapt to.
AC Milan
AC Milan have one of the most storied European histories of any football club, having won the Champions League seven times. They’ll be hoping to add to that legacy with a strong display here.
For the Rossoneri, this competition may not be as significant as the top prize, though it’s an opportunity for the team to make their mark on the continental stage once again. That’s something they’ve been looking to do during the summer by making some tremendous acquisitions in the transfer market.
As noted below, they’ve made impressive purchases in every area of the pitch during the summer window:
"AC Milan can field an entire XI full of new signings from this summer pic.twitter.com/toDA9FCkNi
— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 22, 2017"
Given the amount of money they’ve invested in new acquisitions, there’ll be a pressure on Vincenzo Montella to get Milan back into the Champions League.
While the Europa League can be a strenuous tournament, if you make it all the way to the final, it’s the most exciting way to qualify for Europe’s top-tier competition. Milan, with the new signings and the quality they already had at hand, will feel confident of going a long way into the competition.
Per Copa90, plenty of fans seem delighted that the San Siro side are back in European action again:
As one of the big favourites for this title, Milan shouldn’t have too many problems negotiating the likes of Austria Vienna, Rijeka and AEK Athens. It’s in the latter stages of the Europa League when the strength of the group assembled should really benefit the Serie A giants.
