Former French international midfielder Eric Abidal picks Arsenal in the draw for the last 16 of the Europa League, pairing them with AC Milan © AFP / jean-guy PYTHON
NYON, Switzerland, Feb 23 – Arsenal, the last surviving British club, on Friday drew seven-time European champion AC Milan in the last 16 of the Europa League.
Arsenal struggled to overcome Swedish minnows Ostersunds in the last round, being booed off by their fans at the Emirates after losing 2-1 on Thursday but going through 4-2 win on aggregate.
Atletico Madrid and French striker Antoine Griezmann were paired with Lokomotiv Moscow, the day after another Spanish-Russian game, between Athletic Bilbao and Spartak Moscow, was marred by violence in which a Spanish policeman died of a heart attack.
Bilbao will face 1993 European champions Marseille for the matches on March 8 and 15.
Another French side, Lyon, must overcome CSKA Moscow to keep alive their hopes of appearing in the final which will be played at their own stadium on May 16.
Lyon were comfortable 4-1 aggregate winners over Villarreal in the round of 32 and former club stalwart Bernard Lacombe welcomed the draw which sees the second leg played in France.
“We qualified well against Villarreal, who are a good club. Obviously it would be fantastic to play in our own stadium (in the final) but there are high-level opponents left in the competition and we have to respect that,” he told beIN Sports.
RB Leipzig, who dropped into the competition after being eliminated from the Champions League, will play Zenit Saint-Petersburg, who won the Europa League in 2008.
Borussia Dortmund meanwhile face potentially the weakest team in the last 16, Czech side Plzen.
