Man Utd to be reunited with former striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic when they face AC Milan in the last 16 of the Europa League; Arsenal face Olympiakos, Tottenham to play Dinamo Zagreb and Rangers drawn with Slavia Prague
Friday 26 February 2021 22:42, UK
Manchester United will face Italian giants AC Milan in the last 16 of the Europa League, while Arsenal have been drawn to play Olympiakos.
United will host the first leg against Milan, which will see their former striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic return to Old Trafford.
Arsenal will travel to Greece in the first leg of their tie with Olympiakos, who knocked them out of the Europa League in the round of 32 last season.
The Greek champions play their home matches at the Karaiskakis Stadium, the venue for Arsenal's dramatic victory over Benfica in the last 32 of the competition on Thursday.
The Gunners' north London rivals Tottenham will face Dinamo Zagreb, who progressed to the last 32 after beating Russian side Krasnodar.
Spurs won the UEFA Cup - the previous incarnation of the Europa League - in 1972 and 1984, while their manager Jose Mourinho lifted the trophy with Porto in 2003 and Manchester United in 2017.
All four British teams left in the competition were kept apart after Rangers were drawn to play Slavia Prague, who shocked Leicester in the previous round.
Elsewhere in the draw, former Arsenal boss Unai Emery - the most successful manager in the history of the Europa League - will see his current side Villarreal take on Dynamo Kiev.
Roma will play 2009 UEFA Cup winners Shakhtar Donetsk, while the 1992 champions Ajax will face Swiss side Young Boys.
Granada will continue their impressive campaign against Norwegian side Molde. The Spanish club are enjoying their first season in European competition and stunned Italian giants Napoli in the previous round.
The first legs of the last-16 ties will take place on March 11, with the return legs a week later.
The quarter-final and semi-final draws will then be held on March 19 in Nyon, Switzerland.
Ibrahimovic's reunion with Manchester United makes for a mouth-watering tie.
The 39-year-old striker established himself as a fan favourite during his short spell at Old Trafford, scoring in the Community Shield and EFL Cup triumphs in 2016/17.
Ibrahimovic played a key role in that season's victorious Europa League run, but a serious knee injury in the quarter-final triumph against Anderlecht ruled him out of the remainder of the campaign.
The veteran only made seven more United appearances after that and looked set to wind down his career when he moved to LA Galaxy in March 2018, but the striker has flourished since returning to Milan and passed a landmark 500 career club goals earlier in February.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says he's been impressed by Ibrahimovic this season and is looking forward to facing the veteran striker in the Europa League.
"It's a nice birthday gift, isn't it? To watch that draw," Solskjaer told Manchester United's website.
"We do have the tradition of making it hard for ourselves in draws. It's one of those draws again that you feel could be a Champions League game.
"It's good for us to have these games to look forward to. This team needs challenges and we enjoy challenges and we embrace them.
"The tradition and history of AC Milan, it's a great club that we welcome and it's a great stadium that we go to there, and we're looking forward to it.
"Zlatan, of course, I've been so impressed, I've got to say, by how his career has gone.
"He had a career-threatening injury when he was here but came back from that and went to [the] MLS, then came back to Milan and has really lifted them. They're on the up and have done really well this season."
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Arsenal vs Olympiakos:
Man Utd vs AC Milan:
Tottenham vs Dinamo Zagreb:
Rangers vs Slavia Prague