Dundalk set to face Premier League Arsenal in the Europa League Group Stages
Credit: Michael P Ryan (ETPhotos)
Filippo Giovagnoli will take on Mikel Arteta as Dundalk are drawn in group B along with Arsenal, Molde and Rapid Wien.
In what could be described as a fantastic draw, Dundalk do have the mouth-watering clash against a Premier League side along with two realistic opportunities to perhaps pick up points against both Molde and Rapid Wien.
Dundalk will travel to the Emirates to take on London giants, Arsenal. Arsenal have been re-energised under the tutelage of Arteta, playing an open, expressive attacking brand of football which will surely test the rigours of Giovagnoli’s defensive shape.
Rapid Wien are the traditional giants of Austrian club football before the emergence of RB Salzburg who have monopolised the league since 2013.
Rapid have not won the Austrian championship since 2008 but did lose in two European Cup Winners’ Cup finals in 1985 and 1986.
The Austrians squad is mainly made up of home-based players but do boast players from Croatia, Greece, Japan and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Molde who were once a potential opponent for Dundalk in the champions League qualification route will now meet the Irish champions.
Once managed by current Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, Molde have been regular competitors in European competition without appearing in the group stages that often.
They did reach the round of 32 in 2016. However, this season Molde have struggled domestically like Dundalk, and remain 19 points off the top spot in the Eliteserien.
The Norwegian champions boast a squad of current internationals such as Magnus Wolf Eikrem who was once on the books of Manchester United and Mathis Boly who is an Ivorian international.
Dundalk will feel they can test both Molde and Rapid Wien and potentially pick up some points. In 2016, they faced Zenit St Petersburg, AZ Alkmaar and Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
They drew with AZ away and beat Maccabi at home while they threatened Zenit by taking the lead over the Russians before finally succumbing to their elite European class.
Dundalk missed potentially a group of death type scenario by not being drawn in group H along with Celtic, Milan and Sparta Praha.
The fixtures will be released later today, Dundalk’s season will at least continue to the 10th of December.
Giovagnoli did not get the draw he wanted against one of his heroes in Jose Mourinho. Speaking after the game last night the Italian said:
“I would love to play against Jose Mourinho,” he admitted. “I think he is an icon in soccer so just to meet him on the pitch would be great.”
Spaniard Mikel Arteta will just have to do.
The draw in full
Group A: AS Roma, BSC Young Boys, CFR Cluj, CSKA Sofia
Group B: Arsenal FC, SK Rapid Wien, Molde FK, Dundalk FC
Group C: Bayer Leverkusen, SK Slavia Praha, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, OGC Nice
Group D: SL Benfica, Standard Liege, Rangers FC, Lech Poznan
Group E: PSV Eindhoven, PAOK FC, Granada CF, Omonia Nicosia
Group F: SSC Napoli, Real Sociedad, AZ Alkmaar, HNK Rjeka
Group G: SC Braga, Leicester City FC, AEK Athens, Zorya Luhansk
Group H: Celtic FC, Sparta Praha, AC Milan, LOSC Lille
Group I: Villareal CF, Qarabag FK, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Sivasspor
Group J: Tottenham Hotspur, PFC Ludogorets, LASK Linz, Royal Antwerp
Group K: CSKA Moscow, Dinamo Zagreb, Feyenoord, Wolfsberger AC
Group L: KAA Gent, FK Crvena Zvezda, TSG Hoffenheim, Slovan Liberac
