Arsenal were dealt a favourable Europa League last-16 draw on Friday as they discovered Sporting CP will be their opponents. Despite European knockout round matches taking place this week, the Gunners, after finishing top of their group, were not in action as the new format includes a play-off round contested by teams finishing third in a Champions League group against the runners-up from all eight Europa League groups.
The official Europa League round of 16 is therefore set to be contested in March and now the ties are set with five teams formerly in the Champions League, including Arsenal's opponents, keeping their European dreams alive.
At the beginning of the season, Sporting were in the Champions League but a third-placed finish saw them drawn against FC Midtjylland of Denmark. A disappointing 1-1 draw at home meant they faced a slight disadvantage in the second leg but a 4-0 away victory was secured to set up a last-16 clash with the current Premier League leaders.
