'Arsenal will hope to avoid Atletico at all costs'

Arsenal booked their place in the semi-finals of the Europa League on Thursday, with a 6-3 aggregate victory over CSKA Moscow. The draw for the next round takes place at 12:00 (CET) on Friday, and ex-Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Scharzer believes there is no easy way through.

"There are some very good teams left at this stage of the competition," he said, speaking on 'Sky Sports'. "With Atletico Madrid and Marseille left, it's a tough competition still."

The pundit believes Arsenal will have to improve their level to win the tournament, though. Arsenal Wenger's men survived a scare in the second leg of their CSKA tie, going 0-2 down before levelling at 2-2 late on.

"Arsenal need to play a lot better than they did tonight," Schwarzer stated. "But they are at this stage of the competition on merit so they have a chance."

"Atletico are a team that have had a lot of success in this competition and in European football, so they are a team nobody wants to draw against.

"You just don't know what you're going to get with Marseille, and Salzburg are probably the weakest side left of the remaining sides."

There is one team the 'Gunners' will hope to avoid, though, according to the pundit. "Arsenal will hope to play against Salzburg and hope to avoid Atletico at all costs," he said.

"The only way there is a positive for Arsene Wenger and the team at the end of the season is winning the Europa League," Schwarzer added, referring to Arsenal's current league position, which sees them outside of the Champions League qualification spots for a second consecutive year.

"You don't know what you're going to get with Arsenal so there are no guarantees where they will finish in the league.

"At the moment, their only option is to win the Europa League, then the season could be classed as reasonably successful."