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LONDON. — Arsenal have been drawn against Sporting Lisbon in the last 16 of the Europa League, with Manchester United facing Real Betis.
The Red Devils booked their place in the last 16 with a dramatic 4-3 aggregate win over fellow European giants Barcelona on Thursday night.
While Arsenal enjoyed a more serene route, sparing themselves the play-off round by winning their group prior to the World Cup.
The Gunners’ opponents Sporting Lisbon dropped out of the Champions League at the expense of Eintracht Frankfurt and Arsenal’s bitter rivals Tottenham.
They boast former Spur Marcus Edwards, who shone against his old side despite Sporting being knocked out. Mikel Arteta’s Gunners side, who were beaten finalists in the 2018/19 edition of the competition and reached the semi-finals in 2020/21, will travel to Lisbon next month to face Ruben Amorim’s side, who are fourth in the Portuguese Primeira Liga at present, in the first leg.
The pairing of the clubs brings potential for a reunion between Arsenal and former defender Hector Bellerin, with the Spaniard having joined the Portuguese club in January after a short return to boyhood club Barcelona.
In terms of where the tie fits into the north London club’s schedule, they welcome Bournemouth to the Emirates before the away tie at Sporting. A trip to Craven Cottage to play Fulham comes between the two legs, before the visit of Crystal Palace follows the second leg.
Manchester United, meanwhile, who have lost just once in all competitions since November , welcome Real Betis, managed by ex-Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini, to Old Trafford for the first leg.
In the lead-up to that match, United travel to Anfield to play Liverpool. They then play Southampton at home before making the trip to Brighton following the second leg, which will be played at Betis’ Estadio Benito Villamarin.
Europa League last-16 draw:
Union Berlin vs Union Saint-Gilloise
Sevilla vs Fenerbahce
Juventus vs Freiburg
Bayer Leverkusen vs Ferencvaros
Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal
Manchester United vs Real Betis
Roma vs Real Sociedad
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Feyenoord — Sky Sports.
Online Reporter