Three teams Arsenal will want to avoid in the Europa League draw

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Arsenal secured their passage into the last 32 of the Europa League on Thursday, maintaining their perfect record in the group stages with a 4-2 win over Dundalk.

They’ll hope to take some of their form in that competition into their game with Burnley this afternoon and win a vital three points.

Arsenal are languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table and Mikel Arteta will know that simply won’t do.

Ahead of tomorrow’s Europa League draw, we look at three teams the Gunners will be desperate to avoid being paired with.

Real Sociedad

Imanol Alguacil has overseen a metoric rise for his team in La Liga.

The San Sebastian-based outfit are second in the division and sit a point behind league leaders Atletico Madrid.

Sociedad qualified for the round of 32 by finishing second in a group that featured Napoli, AZ Alkmaar and Rijeka.

Their squad is brimming with quality and that has shown this season.

David Silva has arrived from Manchester City, whilst wonderkid Alexander Isak has been spearheading the attack.

Former Gunner, Nacho Monreal would relish a reunion with his old club – but Arsenal probably wouldn’t welcome this draw.

Olympiacos

Arsenal were flying in last season’s Europa League until they came up against the Greek outfit.

The Gunners did the hard work by winning 1-0 in Greece but they became complacent in the return leg.

Olympiacos won 2-1 and went onto face Wolves in the last 16, where they lost 2-1 on aggregate.

Pedro Martins’ men are set to drop into the Europa League after finishing third in a Champions League group including Marseille, Manchester City and Porto.

The mental scars from last year’s defeat might not have healed just yet and this would represent a potential banana skin.

RB Salzburg

Another daunting looking trip that could await Arsenal would be a trip to Austria.

Salzburg captured the imagination of plenty of neutrals last season when they were on the wrong end of an epic 4-3 defeat against Liverpool.

Jesse Marsch’s men boast some of Europe’s most sought-after players and striker Patson Daka has been linked with a move to Arsenal previously (90Min).

Salzburg finished third in their Champions League having made a valiant effort against Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Lokomotiv Moscow.

Arsenal won’t fancy coming up against the Austrian champions.