“Time to play our U23s until the semi’s or final”, “Lets give Ruud a nice reception” – Arsenal fans excited after Europa League draw decides their group stage opponents

Arsenal fans have reacted positively to their Europa League group stage draw and are confident they will progress to the next round.

The Gunners have been drawn alongside Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven, as well as Swiss outfit FC Zurich and Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt.

PSV will surely provide the biggest test for the Premier League team from the group. They only missed out on the Champions League group stage after losing their final qualifier to Rangers this week.

The 2022/23 Europa League group stage is set! 🤩

🤔 Most exciting group?

#UELdraw https://t.co/3o21aUbOXZ

Meanwhile, Zurich are the Swiss champions and will provide a tough test for Mikel Arteta's side. Bodo/Glimt is a more unknown outfit. However, they thrashed Jose Mourinho's Roma 6-1 last term, while also knocking Celtic out of the Europa Conference League.

Arsenal are returning to European action after a year out of continental football, but were forced to settle for a Europa League place last season. They were in pole position to finish in the top four, but fell short as they were leapfrogged by arch-rivals Tottenham towards the end of the season.

However, following the draw, Arsenal fans appeared optimistic about their chances in Europe's secondary competition across the campaign. Many took to Twitter to express their feelings about their upcoming continental clashes:

Group A:
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Arsenal
🇳🇱 PSV
🇳🇴 Bodo/Glimt
🇨🇭 FC Zurich

Nice draw. Stat padding in these games will be good for building momentum in the league.

It's coming home.

@AFTVMedia Should be winning all

@AFTVMedia the gooners will top the group at the end

@AFTVMedia Fair draw for us tbh.... We are winning the Europa league

@AFTVMedia Very doable and no mad locations

@AFTVMedia Lets give Ruud a nice reception.

@AFTVMedia Time to play our u23s until the semi’s or final

Arsenal recieve favorable draw for Europa League group stage

The Gunners are still aiming to lift a European trophy for the first time in the club's illustrious history.

They reached the Europa League final in 2019, but were ultimately thrashed 4-1 by Chelsea in Baku. Victory in this competition would of course mean automatic qualification to the Champions League group stage, as well as being the top seed in the draw.

Arsenal have not played in Europe's elite club competition since 2017 and threw away a golden opportunity to qualify at the end of last season. Mikel Arteta's side have started the season in perfect fashion, having convincingly won their opening three games.

Elsewhere in the draw, Manchester United have also received a kind group on paper, as they take on Real Sociedad, FC Sheriff and Omonoia.

Former United boss Jose Mourinho will take his Roma side into the competition. He guided the Serie A side to their first ever Europa Conference League title last term. They have been drawn in a group alongside Real Betis, Ludogrets and Icelandic side HJK.

The most challenging group on paper appears to be Group B, which contains Rennes, Dynamo Kiev, Fenerbahce and AEK Larnaca. The winners of each group will skip the last 32 stages and head straight into the last 16, while the third-placed side will drop into the Conference League.

Manchester United will play La Liga side Real Sociedad while Arsenal will face former champions PSV Eindhoven in the Europa League group stage. 🚨 https://t.co/Btd3SeAGwp