Nyon, Switzerland: Arsenal were handed a mouth-watering clash against tournament favourites Atletico Madrid in yesterday’s draw for the semi-finals of the Europa League, meaning the clubs will meet for the first time.
French giants Marseille will play Salzburg, a club backed by soft drinks giant Red Bull, in the other semi-final.
Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal will play the first leg at home at the Emirates Stadium against Atletico, led by French striker Antoine Griezmann, who are looking to win the competition for the third time in a decade.
Wenger, whose side play Manchester United away in the Premier League between the two legs of the semi-final, had identified Atletico, Champions League finalists in 2014 and 2016, as the most dangerous side in the draw.
“Everybody speaks about Atletico Madrid that they look the strongest team on paper,” he said. It will be Arsenal’s first European semi-final since 2009.
The first legs will take place on April 26 with the return games on May 3.
“They are a similar kind of club to us,” Atletico director Clemente Villaverde said at the draw at Uefa’s headquarters in Nyon.
“Arsenal are a great team, they’re up there every year fighting for trophies and getting deep into their European competitions,” he said.
Arsenal reached the last four after surviving a scare against CSKA Moscow in Thursday’s quarter-final second leg in the Russian capital.
Danny Welbeck and Aaron vRamsey both scored late in the game for Arsenal to calm nerves after CSKA had raced into a 2-0 lead on the night. A 2-2 draw saw the London side through 6-3 on aggregate.
Atletico lost 1-0 to Sporting in Lisbon on Thursday but advanced 2-1 on aggregate.
Marseille will be at home in the first leg against 1994 finalists Salzburg, who produced the shock result of Thursday night by defeating Italian side Lazio 4-1 at home to win 6-5 on aggregate.
Salzburg have already beaten Marseille once in the competition this season, a 1-0 victory in Austria. The teams also drew 0-0 at the Velodrome in the group stage.