The Gunners and the Toffees will take in some tricky contests as they endeavour to make their way through Europe's second tier club competition

Arsenal will face BATE Borisov, FC Koln and Red Star Belgrade in the group stage of the 2017-18 Europa League.

Everton, meanwhile, will take on Lyon, Atalanta and Apollon.

The Gunners, who have missed out on a Champions League berth for the first time under Arsene Wenger, have been placed into Group H while the Toffees are in Group E.

Italian giants Milan are among the other notable sides to be taking part in Europe’s second tier club competition and they have been paired with Austria Wien, Rijeka and AEK.

Elsewhere, the likes of Villarreal, Athletic Bilbao and Lazio will be going in search of continental glory.

Zenit St Petersburg, the 2008 winners, will also be hoping to go deep into the competition, with former Manchester City and Inter boss Roberto Mancini now at the helm of the ambitious Russian side.

They will all be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Manchester United, who landed the trophy in 2016-17 to end the season in style under Jose Mourinho and book a return ticket to the Champions League.

EUROPA LEAGUE GROUP STAGE

The opening round of fixtures in the group stage will take place on September 14, as all of those involved seek to take a positive first step on the road to the final in Lyon.