Who are Arsenal’s main rivals to win the Europa League?

Arsenal’s best chance of playing in next season’s Champions League is to win the Europa League in May.

Manchester United did just that last season, but the competition is arguably much tougher this time around.

Arsene Wenger’s Gunners are 5/1 to win it, but who are their main competitors?

Atletico Madrid – 9/4

Atletico Madrid know how to go about European football. Diego Simeone’s men are arguably the toughest side on the continent to break down and they’ve reached two Champions League finals since 2014.

They messed up in the Champions League due to a lack of goals, but that’s been solved now Diego Costa has returned.

Atletico are once again a force in every department, and they’ve got experience to match.

Borussia Dortmund – 11/2

They’ve sold Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Arsenal, but Borussia Dortmund are still a side to be respected.

Michy Batshuayi has been brought in, and the Chelsea man has started brightly. Marco Reus is back from injury too while Mario Gotze can always pop up when it matters.

Conceding 13 goals in the Champions League group stage suggests BvB still have to work to do, but up front they’re as good as anyone left in the Europa.

Lyon – 10/1

Lyon could be a threat because, like Arsenal, their best chance of Champions League football is to go all the way. The league route looks unlikely.

Alexandre Lacazette is an Arsenal man now, but in Nabil Fekir and Mariano Diaz, Olympique still boast plenty of firepower up front.

Lyon have lost their way a little of late, but they’ve defeated last season’s Ligue 1 champions Monaco twice and are one of the few sides to have beaten Paris Saint-Germain this term.

Lazio – 11/1

Lazio have only missed out on European football in five of the last 25 seasons, but success has eluded them recently.

This is the seventh time the Rome outfit have played in the Europa League since 2010, but only once have they reached the quarter-final stage.

A Champions League spot in Serie A isn’t a guarantee either, with Lazio locked in a fierce three-way fight with rivals Roma and Inter for third and fourth.

So Europa League success could be crucial, and in Ciro Immobile, they boast a striker who cannot stop scoring this season.

AC Milan – 12/1

Gennaro Gattuso is having quite an impact at AC Milan, who are unbeaten in 13 games ahead of their first leg clash against Arsenal.

The San Siro outfit are making rapid improvements, and could yet be a major player in this year’s Europa League.

It’s a tall order for them to bag a top four spot in Serie A, so this is their best shot at securing Champions League football.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing