On Friday, Arsenal will hopefully be in the Europa League semi-final draw along with three other clubs from around the continent, so here’s the lowdown on what to expect from each one.

At this stage, we still don’t know for sure which three of the six teams remaining will still be in the competition tomorrow. Let’s look at all the possibilities:

2Olympique de Marseille

Dimitri Payet

Marseille have been playing Europa League football for longer than most this season, as they had to make it through two qualifiers just to earn a place in the group stages.

They didn’t have the most inspiring of campaigns in Group I, with two wins, two draws and two defeats, but they’ve looked confident in the knockout rounds so far.

Like Arsenal, they won the first leg of their round-of-32 tie 3-0, before falling to a one-goal defeat in the second. After that, they won both legs of their last-16 tie against Athletic Bilbao, progressing 5-2 on aggregate. They lost the first leg of the RB Leipzig quarter-final 1-0.

Their star men at the moment are probably Dimitri Payet and Florian Thauvin. Most Arsenal fans will already know both from their respective spells in England.

Payet played for West Ham, and was frequently compared to Mesut Özil for a few months before disappearing back to France. This season he’s scored eight goals and provided 16 assists. Four of those goal contributions came in Europa League knockout rounds.

Meanwhile Thauvin spent even less time playing for Newcastle United, only making 13 league appearances before he was loaned back to Marseille. They made the transfer permanent last summer.

Since then, the winger has scored 18 goals and provided 16 assists. I’m sure he’ll be keen to make an impression against English opposition if given the chance.

2017/18 European record

  • Wins: 7
  • Draws: 4
  • Defeats: 4
  • Goals scored: 20
  • Goals conceded: 11