Hector Bellerin played more than 200 times for the Gunners – but will be on the opposing side next month [Chensiyuan]

ARSENAL are set to line up against their long-serving full back Hector Bellerin when they return to European action.

The Gunners were drawn to face Sporting Lisbon in the last 16 of the Europa League earlier today (Friday).

Bellerin moved to the Portuguese side after leaving Barcelona in January. He had played 239 matches for Arsenal before losing his first team place.

Mikel Arteta’s team were able to sit out this week’s fixtures in Europe because they finished top of their first round group earlier in the season.In contrast, the other English team left in the competition, Manchester United, had to battle through a play-off match with Barcelona last night (Thursday).

While it is the second tier European tournament, some big names in continental football are all still in the mix, including Juventus, Roma and Sevilla. United are currently the bookmakers to win the trophy.

Sporting Lisbon had been in the Champions League but dropped out after finishing third in a group won by Spurs – even though they beat Arsenal’s north London rivals in Portugal and drew 1-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Europa League final this season is taking place in Budapest in May.

The final draw for the last 16 is as follows – to be played next month:

Union Berlin vs Union SG
Juventus vs Freiburg
Sporting CP vs Arsenal
Roma vs Real Sociedad
Sevilla vs Fenerbahce
Leverkusen vs Ferencváros
Manchester United vs Betis
Shaktar Donetsk vs Feyernoord