Arsenal Europa League group: Gunners dealt tricky draw with BATE Borisov, FC Koln and Red Star Belgrade

Arsene Wenger's men discovered their three opponents during Friday afternoon's draw in Monaco

Arsene Wenger leads Arsenal into the Europa League group stage for the first time in his two-decade reign at the club (Getty Images)

Arsenal have been handed a relatively tough start to the Europa League after drawing BATE Borisov, FC Koln and Red Star Belgrade in Group H.

The Gunners face the ignominy of appearing on Thursday nights before Christmas for the first time in Arsene Wenger's two-decade reign at the club and would have hoped for a slightly easier group to kick things off.

Nevertheless, Wenger's side head into the competition as joint favourites at this early stage, and with competition for the domestic title looking stiffer than ever this season, they could well view this as a viable opportunity to qualify for next year's Champions League.

Alongside Arsenal as favourites are the newly-rich AC Milan, Roberto Mancini's Zenit St Petersburg and La Liga outfits Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad.

Other strong contenders are Arsenal's Premier League rivals Everton, who head into this competition for just the third time in nine seasons.

The Toffees have also been given a tough draw in the shape of Lyon, Atalanta and Limassol, although trips to the south of France, Bergamo and Cyprus will be some consolation for the club's faithful.

Both English sides will have been eager to avoid any difficult games early on in the group as well as arduous journeys to the other side of the continent before heading home for weekend Premier League fixtures.

While that second wish has mostly been fulfilled - bar Everton's journey to Cyprus and Arsenal's trips to Belarus and Serbia - there are potentially tough fixtures for both.

For Arsenal, BATE Borisov are the highest-ranked side they will face according to Uefa's club coefficient. The Belorussian side have won their league title for 11 consecutive seasons and have been Champions League group stage competitors for five of the past nine seasons.

Koln finished fifth in the Bundesliga last term and a Thursday night in Belgrade should be some spectacle.

Making it through Group E will be an achievement for Everton with tough ties against last season's quarter-finalists Lyon and Italian side Atalanta, although both sides have lost key players this summer.

Limassol, who finished third in the Cypriot league last year, should prove an easier task.

Draw in full:

Group A: Villarreal, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Astana, Slavia Prague

Group B: Dynamo Kiev, Young Boys, Partizan, Skënderbeu

Group C: Braga, Ludogorets, Hoffenheim, İstanbul Başakşehir

Group D: AC Milan, Austria Wien, Rijeka, AEK Athens

Group E: Lyon, Everton, Atalanta, Apollon Limassol

Group F: Copenhagen, Lokomotiv Moskva, Sheriff Tiraspol, Zlín

Group G: Viktoria Plzen, FCSB, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, Lugano

Group H: Arsenal, BATE Borisov, Koln, Crvena Zvezda

Group I: Salzburg, Marseille, Vitória Guimarães, Konyaspor

Group J: Athletic Bilbao, Hertha Berlin, Zorya Luhansk, Östersund

Group K: Lazio, Nice, Zulte Waregem, Vitesse

Group L: Zenit, Real Sociedad, Rosenborg, Vardar