It can often be difficult to get the measure of a Europa League group because, quite frankly, the draw is often populated by teams many have never heard of.
How often do any of us tune in to see how AEK Larnaca are faring in the Cypriot league or keep tabs on the tactical preferences of plucky Ferencvaros, for example?
Perhaps our ignorance of these teams is indication enough of the sort of threat they might pose or maybe they provide the perfect cover for a nasty surprise?
As it transpires, Arsenal’s group A opponents (PSV, Bodo/Glimt, and FC Zurich) are not entirely unknown quantities to us and we can be sure of a few raucous mid-week nights away on the continent.
For all its controversy, the Europa Conference League has at least taken away a layer of opposition from the more senior Europa League that bordered on the amateur. Who remembers trips to Dundalk or Rapid Wien?
What remains is a mixture of former European heavyweights fallen on hard times, and plucky upstarts enjoying the crest of their wave. I happen to think it’s a much better competition for it.
I would still expect a good deal of squad rotation to help us manage the group games but Mikel Arteta may be less inclined to call upon quite so many under 23s and promising young stars as he has done in previous campaigns.
While that may hold back some of those starlets who had been eyeing this competition as a way of catching the eye, it does mean a much better workout for those on the fringes of the Premier League squad who may yet be called into more serious action as the season progresses and injuries weave their inevitable woe.
So while trips to the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland are unlikely to be our toughest games of the season, we can expect a much better workout on our travels than we’ve had in this competition before.
The campaign will kick off in earnest on 8 September.
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