ARSENAL were handed their Europa League nightmare by drawing Galatasaray, AC Milan and Molde in the group stages.
That is according to a simulator that SunSport ran to find out what could happen in tomorrow’s draw.
Arsenal face a tough Europa League group stage according to a simulator run by SunSportCredit: Reuters
And it is not much better news for Tottenham or Leicester City, either.
Arsenal are the highest-ranked side in this season’s Europa League out of the 48, just pipping rivals Spurs by six Uefa coefficient points.
But that did not prevent them facing a horror draw in the simulator which took into consideration the teams already qualified and each of the favourites from tonight’s final round of qualification.
For example, Tottenham, Galatasaray and AC Milan are not definitely in the hat just yet as they need to win their play-offs against Maccabi Haifa and Rio Ave respectively.
But for Mikel Arteta’s side, the trial run threw up a tasty Group C including a clash with the Turkish giants, who have Radamel Falcao and Arda Turan in their squad.
The Turks face Rangers at Ibrox tonight for a spot in the 48.
From Pot 3, Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s seven-time European champions AC Milan joined the Gunners and Galatasaray in Group C.
And completing the quartet is Norwegian side Molde, where Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland both shone before moving on.
All three English sides have it all to do if they want to progress into the knockout stages
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will not doubt be ready to cause carnage should AC Milan face the GunnersCredit: Getty Images – Getty
For Tottenham, also in Pot 1, they were pitted against Wolfsburg, Red Star Belgrade and Sivasspor from Turkey in Group G.
Spurs faced Red Star in the Champions League group stages last term, winning 5-0 at home and 4-0 away with Son Heung-min scoring four across the two games.
For Pot 3’s Leicester, making their first appearance in European football since their run to the Champions League quarter-finals in 2017, it is also a tough group.
Brendan Rodgers’ men are in Group K alongside Unai Emery’s Villarreal from Pot 1, Swiss outfit Young Boys and Ligue 1 side Nice.
Other standout ties see Benfica face PSV Eindhoven in Group B while Irish minnows Dundalk face a steep task to qualify from Group E with Bayer Leverkusen, Celtic and Real Sociedad.
The actual draw for the Europa League group stages – with 12 groups of four – takes place on Friday in Nyon, Switzerland with the first round of matches scheduled for October 22.
Three successive weeks of action will be followed by a two-week break before another three Thursdays in a row, meaning the six matches should all be done by December 10 in the intense condensed calendar.
Should any games be postponed due to coronavirus, Uefa have set an extension deadline of January 28 for them all to be played.
Song Heung-min scored four goals across two matches against Red Star Belgrade last season in the 5-0 and 4-0 winsCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester were pitted against Villarreal, Young Boys and Nice in Group KCredit: Reuters
Jose Mourinho reveals how Tottenham were forced to move the goalposts ahead of their Europa League qualifying win over Shkendija
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
