Uefa Europa League 2017-18 group stage draw - Arsenal meet Cologne as Everton paired with Lyon

That wraps up our coverage of the Europa League group stage draw, thanks for following along.

IBTimes UK will be back tomorrow to bring you live updates from the Saturday teatime Premier League encounter between Manchester United and Leicester City at Old Trafford.

Until then, farewell.

Manchester United's Paul Pogba is crowned as the 2016-17 Europa League player of the season. Richly deserved, you'd have to say.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Alexandre Lacazette, Kasper Dolberg, Marcus Rashford, Davy Klaassen, Ander Herrera, Bertrand Traore and Edin Dzeko were the other names shortlisted.

Things look a degree tougher for Everton, who will go head-to-head with final hosts Lyon and a team in Atalanta who achieved an impressive fourth-place finish in Serie A last term.

Apollon Limassol came third in the Cypriot First Division and knocked out FC Midtjylland in qualifying.

So there we have it. Arsenal are in Group H, where they will once again face a Bundesliga team in the shape of Cologne and a former European Cup winner in Red Star Belgrade.

They will also go up against 13-time Belarusian Premier League champions BATE Borisov.

Group L

Zenit, Real Sociedad, Rosenborg, FK VARDAR

Group K

Lazio, Nice, Zulte Waregem, VITESSE ARNHEM

Group J

Athletic Bilbao, Hertha Berlin, Zorya Luhansk, OSTERSUNDS

Group F

FC Copenhagen, Lokomotiv Moscow, Sheriff Tiraspol, ZLIN

Group I

FC Salzburg, Marseille, Vitoria SC, KONYASPOR

Group E

Lyon, Everton, Atalanta, APOLLON

Group H

Arsenal, BATE Borisov, Cologne, RED STAR BELGRADE

Group G

Viktoria Plzen, Steaua Bucharest, Hapoel Be'er Sheva, LUGANO

Group D

AC Milan, Austria Vienna, Rijeka, AEK ATHENS

Group C

Braga, Ludogorets, Hoffenheim, ISTANBUL BASAKSEHIR

Group B

Dynamo Kiev, Young Boys, Partizan Belgrade, SKENDERBEU

Group A

Villarreal, Maccabi Tel Aviv, FC Astana, SLAVIA PRAGUE

Time to draw the fourth and final pot...

Group L

Zenit, Real Sociedad, ROSENBORG

Group K

Lazio, Nice, ZULTE WAREGEM

Group F

FC Copenhagen, Lokomotiv Moscow, SHERIFF TIRASPOL

Group J

Athletic Bilbao, Hertha Berlin, ZORYA LUHANSK

Group I

FC Salzburg, Marseille, VITORIA SC

Group H

Arsenal, BATE Borisov, COLOGNE

Group E

Lyon, Everton, ATALANTA

Group D

AC Milan, Austria Vienna, RIJEKA

Group G

Viktoria Plzen, Steaua Bucharest, HAPOEL BE'ER SHEVA

Group C

Braga, Ludogorets, HOFFENHEIM

Group B

Dynamo Kiev, Young Boys, PARTIZAN BELGRADE

Group A

Villarreal, Maccabi Tel Aviv, FC ASTANA

No time to catch our breath as we move onto pot three....

Group F

FC Copenhagen, LOKOMOTIV MOSCOW

Group E

Lyon, EVERTON

Group L

Zenit, REAL SOCIEDAD

Group K

Lazio, NICE

Group J

Athletic Bilbao, HERTHA BERLIN

Group I

FC Salzburg, MARSEILLE

Group H

Arsenal, BATE BORISOV

Group G

Viktoria Plzen, STEAUA BUCHAREST

Group D

AC Milan, AUSTRIA VIENNA

Group C

Braga, LUDOGORETS

Group B

Dynamo Kiev, YOUNG BOYS

Group A

Villarreal, MACCABI TEL AVIV

So Arsenal are in Group H. Not much more to discuss just yet as we move swiftly onto pot two...

Group L

ZENIT

Group K

LAZIO

Group J

ATHLETIC BILBAO

Group I

FC SALZBURG

Group H

ARSENAL

Group G

VIKTORIA PLZEN

Group F

FC COPENHAGEN

Group E

LYON

Group D

AC MILAN

Group C

BRAGA

Group B

DYNAMO KIEV

Group A

VILLARREAL

Uefa's director of competitions Giorgio Marchetti and head of club competitions Michael Heselschwerdt complete the draw lineup.

After the usual technical explanation, we will be ready to get going with pot one.

Ex-France stalwart Eric Abidal, an ambassador for this season's Europa League final in Lyon, will also help out.

The Uefa Cup/Europa League's all-time leading goalscorer, former Celtic, Barcelona and Manchester United striker Henrik Larsson, will assist with the draw.

He was part of the Celtic side that reached the final in 2003. Unfortunately his brace was not enough for Martin O'Neill's side to avoid a dramatic 3-2 extra-time defeat to Jose Mourinho's Porto in Seville.

Host Darren Tulett takes to the stage at the Grimaldi Forum and we are nearly ready to get underway. Time for a quick highlights package from last season...

Manchester United are the current holders of the Europa League following their comfortable 2-0 victory over Ajax in Stockholm in May, with such a triumph securing automatic qualification for the group stages of the Champions League.

Their opponents, meanwhile, are without European football for the first time since 1966 after falling to Rosenborg in Trondheim last night. Fenerbahce were also surprisingly eliminated by Macedonian outfit FK Vardar.

Plenty of unfamiliar names and lengthy journeys in pot four, although Eredivisie side Vitesse Arnhem are an interesting prospect given their close relationship with Chelsea.

Pot four: Apollon Limassol, Istanbul Basaksehir, Konyaspor, Vitesse Arnhem, Slavia Prague, Red Star Belgrade, Skenderbeu, FC Zlin, AEK Athens, FC Lugano, Vardar Skopje, Ostersunds

Nicklas Bendtner could return to Arsenal if the Gunners are paired with Rosenborg. The Norwegian champions are joined in pot three by Hoffenheim, who were knocked out of the Champions League play-off round on Tuesday evening courtesy of an attacking masterclass from Liverpool at Anfield.

FC Astana ended up making things unexpectedly difficult for Celtic in Kazakhstan following a 5-0 drubbing in Glasgow, while Zorya Luhansk were in Manchester United's group last year.

Pot three: Astana, Partizan Belgrade, Hoffenheim, Cologne, NK Rijeka, Vitoria Guimaraes, Atalanta, Zulte Waregem, Zorya Luhansk, Rosenborg, Sheriff Tiraspol, Hapoel Beer-Sheva

Everton, meanwhile, will be considered as a potential menace in pot two alongside the likes of French duo Nice and Marseille.

The Toffees reached the last 16 of the Europa League in 2014-15 before losing 6-4 on aggregate to Dynamo Kiev following a 5-2 second-leg thumping in Ukraine.

Pot two: Steaua Bucharest, Ludogorets Razgrad, BATE Borisov, Everton, Young Boys, Marseille, Real Sociedad, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Lokomotiv Moscow, Austria Vienna, Hertha Berlin, Nice

Everton's best scenario: Viktoria Plzen, Zulte Waregem, FC Lugano

Everton's worst scenario: AC Milan, Hoffenheim, Vitesse Arnhem

There is no doubting who the biggest hitter is in this year's competition. Arsenal's Uefa coefficient is far higher than any other team involved in today's draw and as such they are placed in pot one, meaning no early ties against the likes of big-spending AC Milan or Russian giants Zenit Saint Petersburg.

There can also be no swift return to Lyon for £46.5m club-record signing Alexandre Lacazette.

Pot one: Arsenal, Zenit St Petersburg, Lyon, Dynamo Kiev, Villarreal, Athletic Bilbao, Lazio, AC Milan, Viktoria Plzen, Salzburg, FC Copenhagen, Braga

Arsenal's best scenario: Austria Vienna, Zulte Waregem, FC Lugano

Arsenal's worst scenario: Marseille, Hoffenheim, Vitesse Arnhem

Format

48 teams will compete in the group stage of the competition: 16 begin their European campaigns with 22 joining them after last night's play-off rounds, with another 10 dropping down from the Champions League play-offs after suffering elimination.

Like the Champions League draw, the 48 teams have been split into four pots based on their Uefa coefficients. Each of the 12 groups will be comprised of one team from each pot.

Teams are drawn in pot order and initially positioned in order of the pot from which they came. No two teams from the same country can be drawn against one another, while sides from Russia and Ukraine are also kept apart for political reasoning. The draw is only complete when all 48 teams have been placed in the eight groups.

Good morning and a very warm welcome to IBTimes UK's live coverage of the draw for the group stage of the 2017-18 Europa League.

Arsenal are entering Europe's secondary club competition from the beginning for the first time in two decades after a run of 21 consecutive top-four domestic finishes came to a screeching halt last term.

Their last involvement came back in 2000, when they bounced back from the disappointment of finishing third in their Champions League group to reach the old Uefa Cup final in Copenhagen. They eventually lost on penalties to Galatasaray following botched attempts from Davor Suker and the great Patrick Vieira.

Joining the Gunners in this year's tournament are Everton, who followed up their narrow qualifying defeat of Slovakian minnows MFK Ruzomberok by beating Croatian outfit Hajduk Split 3-1 on aggregate in the play-off round thanks to first-leg goals from Michael Keane and Idrissa Gueye and last night's absolute stunner from new signing Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Rangers and Aberdeen were among the handful of British teams who did not make it through.

The draw ceremony is due to get underway in Monaco at approximately midday UK time. Stay tuned....