Arsenal will face Russian Premier League side CSKA Moscow in the quarter-finals of the Europa League following the draw in Nyon.
It will be the first time the two sides have played each other since 2006, when the Gunners and CSKA were paired with each other in the group stage of the Champions League that year.
A fixture with minor history
In the inaugural year of the Emirates Stadium and the season following Arsenal’s Champions League final loss to FC Barcelona in Paris, the Gunners were held to a stalemate at home against a CSKA Moscow side with the likes of Vagner Love, the Berezutsky brothers and Igor Akinfeev.
In the return game in the Russian capital, Arsenal were defeated 1-0 in the final game of the Group G fixtures after Brazilian midfielder Daniel Carvalho fired in a 20-yard free-kick past the reach Jens Lehmann to take seal CSKA’s spot at the top of the group.
The road to the quarters
Arsenal progress to the quarterfinals after a fairly routine 5-1 aggregate win against AC Milan. The Gunners sealed a vital 2-0 win away from home in the first leg of the tie, and last night Arsene Wenger’s side eased past Gennaro Gattuso’s team 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium.
CSKA started the European season in the Champions League group stage with the likes of Manchester United, FC Basel, and Benfica. But despite winning three of their six games, the Russian giants had to settle for third place as Basel beat them to second place in the group.
Having eased past Red Star Belgrade in the Round of 32, Moscow were drawn with Lyon in the Round of 16, the host city for the final and one of the favourites to win the competition. Despite these odds, CSKA pulled off one of the shocks of the round by eliminating the French side on away goals following a 3-2 win in France last night.
The rest of the draw goes as follows.
RB Leipzig v Marseille
Arsenal v CSKA Moscow
Atletico Madrid v Sporting
Lazio v Salzburg