The draw for the group stage of the Europa League was conducted Friday, with standout club Arsenal being pitted in an intriguing quartet that could prove awkward to maneuver.
The Gunners, not competing in the Champions League for the first time since the 1997-98 season, were drawn alongside Cologne, Red Star Belgrade, and BATE Borisov in Group H of the 48-team tournament.
Elsewhere, a revamped AC Milan is back in European competition after easily breezing through the tournament's qualifying stages, and the Rossoneri will be quite pleased with the results of Friday's festivities.
The Italian side, back in continental play after a three-year absence, was drawn alongside Austria Vienna, Rijeka, and AEK Athens in Group D.
Here's how the draw played out in full:
Group A: Villarreal, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Astana, Slavia Prague
Group B: Dynamo Kiev, Young Boys, Partizan Belgrade, Skenderbeu
Group C: Braga, Ludogorets Razgrad, Hoffenheim, Istanbul Basaksehir
Group D: AC Milan, Austria Vienna, NK Rijeka, AEK Athens
Group E: Lyon, Everton, Atalanta, Apollon Limassol
Group F: FC Copenhagen, Lokomotiv Moscow, FC Sheriff, FC Zlin
Group G: Viktoria Plzen, FCSB, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, FC Lugano
Group H: Arsenal, BATE Borisov, Cologne, Red Star Belgrade
Group I: FC Salzburg, Marseille, Vitoria Guimaraes, Konyaspor
Group J: Athletic Bilbao, Hertha Berlin, Zorya Luhansk, Ostersunds
Group K: Lazio, Nice, Zulte Waregem, Vitesse Arnhem
Group L: Zenit St. Petersburg, Real Sociedad, Rosenborg, Vardar Skopje
The competition begins Sept. 14.