Seven-time European champions AC Milan will face Arsenal in the standout last 16 tie in the UEFA Europa League after the draw was made in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday.
It will be the first time they are meeting since Milan won 4-3 on aggregate to reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals in 2012 where they lost to FC Barcelona.
Spanish favourites, Atletico Madrid, take on Lokomotiv Moscow while Milan’s Serie A rivals, Lazio, will face Dinamo Kiev.
Borussia Dortmund, another club having to settle for Europe’s secondary club competition after falling out of the Champions League, face Austria’s FC Salzburg.
French club, Olympique Lyonnais, whose ground will host the final, play CSKA Moscow while former European champions Olympique de Marseille face Athletic Bilbao.
The remaining two ties are: RB Leipzig against Zenit St Petersburg and Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon versus Viktoria Plzen.
Milan, playing in Europe after a three-year absence, had improved under former player, Gennaro Gattuso.
Gattuso had taken them on an 11-match unbeaten run, but they were still adrift in the race for UEFA Champions League places, lying seventh in the Italian Serie A.
Arsenal, who failed to qualify for the Champions League this season for the first time in 20 years, look unlikely to return via a top-four finish in the English Premier League.
With a UEFA Champions League spot up for grabs for the UEFA Europa League winners, the clash between the two powerhouses takes on added significance.
The six previous matches between the sides have seen both win twice.
Arsenal prevailed 3-0 in the most recent clash at The Emirates, having lost 0-4 in the San Siro in the first leg of their 2012 UEFA Champions League tie.
The English side reached the last 16 in spite of losing 1-2 at home to Swedish club Ostersunds on Thursday.
On their part, Milan beat Bulgarian side Ludogorets.
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