Arsenal will be the happiest of the Premier League sides after this evening’s Champions League draw grouped them with AZ Alkmaar, Standard Liege and Olympiacos, while Manchester United got the side nobody wanted from pot four.

German champions Wolfsburg were the bogey team among the bottom seeds but United manager Alex Ferguson will not be too concerned after avoiding the big guns from pots two and three, though they face two other tough away fixtures to CSKA Moscow and Turkish side Besiktas.

David Gill admitted the draw could have been kinder to United, but played down fears about the travelling required.

He told Sky Sports News: "I think pot four was the interesting one, I think most clubs would have preferred not to get the German champions out of that, but we got it.

"But overall we have to be happy with it and look forward to starting in three weeks. Besiktas away, long trip first one, but we will see where we go from there."

Chelsea were stung with third seeds Atletico Madrid and a potential meeting with transfer target Sergio Aguerro. They will also face 2004 champions FC Porto and Cypriot side APOEL FC.

Liverpool’s task is not straight forward in Group E but it could have been worse for the Merseysiders after they drew experienced French outfit Lyon, Serie A’s Fiorentina and Debreceni of Hungary.

Managing director Christian Purslo feels the club have received a favourable draw. With little travelling involved in away trips for any of the sides, he admits he could not have hoped for much more.

"We are very happy," he told Sky Sports News. "We tend to focus on our travel commitments - short trip to France, short trip to Italy and a slightly longer trip to Hungary - we are pretty happy with that."

The Hungarian champions will be something of an unknown quantity for Liverpool, but Purslow is pleased to see French and Italian representatives alongside the Reds.

"Both have come through the qualifiers, so that means they're doing something right, and I think they are very well known European opponents who won't bring us any surprises," he added.

Defending champions Barcelona will meet former coach Jose Mourinho when they take on Inter Milan in Group F and away fixtures against Dynamo Kiev and Russian champions Rubin Kazan won’t make life easy for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Kaka will return to the San Siro sooner than expected after Real Madrid were drawn from pot two to face AC Milan. Marseille and FC Zurich complete Group C.

In Group A, Bayern Munich will not be relishing meetings with Juventus or French champions Bordeaux, nor will the look forward to a trip to Israel to face Maccabi Haifa.

It could have been worse for Scottish champions Rangers who were drawn with Sevilla, VfB Stuttgart and Romanian debutants AFC Unirea Urziceni.

The group-stage fixtures will be played on 15/16 September, 29/30 September, 20/21 October, 3/4 November, 24/25 November and 8/9 December

Champions League Group Stages

Group A

Bayern Munich

Juventus

Bordeaux

Maccabi Haifa

Group B

Manchester United

CSKA Moscow

Besiktas

VfL Wolfsburg

Group C

AC Milan

Real Madrid

Marseille

FC Zürich

Group D

Chelsea

FC Porto

Atletico Madrid

APOEL FC

Group E

Liverpool

Lyon

Fiorentina

Debreceni

Group F

Barcelona

Inter Milan

Dynamo Kiev

Rubin Kazan

Group G

Sevilla

Rangers

VfB Stuttgart

AFC Unirea Urziceni

Group H

Arsenal

AZ Alkmaar

Olympiacos

Standard Liège