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Football London
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Sam Hill

Why Arsenal cannot draw Manchester United in Europa League round of 16 after Barcelona win

Arsenal find out their Europa League round of 16 opponents today after the first knockout round of the competition ended last night. The Gunners finished as Group A winners earlier in the tournament meaning they were able to skip the play-off between second-place finishers and clubs dropping out of the Champions League and qualify for the round of 16 straight away.

Mikel Arteta's side lost just once in Group A and will now be aiming to reach the final of the competition despite looking good for Champions League qualification in the Premier League. The Gunners are no longer in the FA Cup or Carabao Cup, meaning the Europa League is the only other competition they are involved in - giving them a less hectic schedule compared to City, who are still in the FA Cup and Champions League.

Manchester United are the only other English team still involved in the Europa League after they beat Barcelona 4-3 on aggregate after coming from behind to win 2-1 at Old Trafford. Erik ten Hag's side drew 2-2 in the first leg at the Camp Nou, and managed to get the job done in the second leg - but they will not be facing Arsenal until the quarter-finals stage at the earliest should both teams progress through the round of 16.

READ MORE: Arsenal make major Bukayo Saka contract breakthrough amid Liverpool and Man City transfer links

The Europa League, like the Champions League, rules that clubs from the same association cannot be drawn against each other in the last 16. This means that the earliest a potential showdown between United and Arsenal can occur in the Europa League will be the quarter-finals.

Arsenal are seeded for the last 16 draw after winning Group A earlier in the competition, meaning they will play the round of 16 second leg at home, but it will be the reverse for United after they beat Barca last night to secure their spot in today's draw. The two clubs met in the semi-finals of the 2008/09 Champions League in which the Manchester outfit claimed victory both home and away.

The north Londoners could face the likes of Serie A giants Juventus, Europa League specialists Sevilla or Jose Mourinho's AS Roma in tomorrow's draw. Below, football.london takes a look at all seven of the potential opponents that they could potentially come up against.

Juventus

Sporting Lisbon

Shakhtar Donetsk

Bayer Leverkusen

Sevilla

Roma

Arsenal await to learn their fate heading into the latter stages of the competition. Follow all the latest updates from the Europa League Round of 16 draw here.

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