ROME, ITALY - FEBRUARY 18: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal looks on ahead of the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 match between SL Benfica and Arsenal FC at Stadio Olimpico on February 18, 2021 in Rome, Italy. SL Benfica face Arsenal FC at a neutral venue in Rome behind closed doors after Portugal imposed a ban on travellers arriving from the UK in an effort to prevent the spread of Covid-19 variants. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

When is the Europa League draw? Plus how to watch it

Aug 24, 2022

Arsenal will learn their upcoming Europa League opponents this week, with the group stage draw set to take place on Friday.

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 13: Granit Xhaka of Arsenal celebrates with teammates after scoring their side's third goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Leicester City at Emirates Stadium on August 13, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images) — LONDON, ENGLAND: Granit Xhaka of Arsenal celebrates with teammates after scoring their side’s third goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Leicester City at Emirates Stadium on August 13, 2022. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

UEFA have confirmed that the Europa League group stage draw will take place on Friday, 26th August at 12:00 BST in Turkey, and it will be streamed live on the UEFA website.

Arsenal will be in pot one of the draw, meaning they’ll avoid other pot one teams – including AS Roma, Manchester United, Lazio, Braga, Red Star Belgrade, and the final two top seeds that are yet to be confirmed.

Clubs from the same association can’t be drawn against each other anyway, so Manchester United were never a potential group-stage opponent.

Arsenal report that none of Monaco, Real Sociedad, Rennes, Union Saint-Gilloise, Real Betis, Union Berlin, Freiburg, Nantes, Qarabag, Midtjylland, and Sturm Graz will be in pot one, so all are potential opponents for Arsenal.

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Given the matches will all be on Thursday nights, we already know the exact dates of all the group fixtures:

Matchday 1: September 8
Matchday 2: September 15
Matchday 3: October 6
Matchday 4: October 13
Matchday 5: October 27
Matchday 6: November 3

Arsenal's Spanish manager Mikel Arteta reacts during a club-friendly football match between Arsenal and Sevilla at the Emirates Stadium in London on July 30, 2022. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images) — Arsenal’s Spanish manager Mikel Arteta reacts during a club-friendly football match between Arsenal and Sevilla at the Emirates Stadium in London on July 30, 2022. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

The group winners progress to the round of 16 beginning March 9th, whilst the group runners-up progress to the round of 32 beginning February 16th. The third-place teams drop into the Europa Conference League.

So there’s a lot of incentive to top the group, particularly in this hectic World Cup season.

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