Former England boss Steve McClaren took the reins at the Dutch side earlier this summer and the Eredivisie outfit will make their Champions League debut after beating Ajax in a play-off last season.

Liverpool were paired with Belgian former European powerhouse Standard Liege and Rangers or FBK Kaunas will play either Aalborg or Modrica.

McClaren may not be the only British coach returning to the United Kingdom in the competition as former Arsenal boss Bruce Rioch is currently in charge of Aalborg, the 2008 Danish SuperLiga champions.

Assuming their 5-0 first-leg lead over Bosnian side Modrica after the first leg is enough to progress, former Scotland captain Rioch will be faced with a trip to Ibrox to face Rangers.

Irish champions Drogheda will take on Spartak Moscow if they reverse a 2-1 first-leg deficit against Ukrainian giants Dynamo Kiev.

The British clubs managed to avoid Spain's Atletico Madrid, the strongest of the unseeded teams, as they were paired with German outfit Schalke.

Elsewhere in the draw Barcelona have been offered a comfortable passage into the group stage after being drawn against the winner of the second-round encounter between Beitar Jerusalem and Wisla Krakow.

Italian giants Juventus will face either Tampere or Artmedia, Fiorentina face Czech champions Slavia Prague and Galatasaray were paired with Steaua Bucharest.

The two-legged ties will be played on August 12/13 and August 26/27.

Arsenal company secretary David Miles told Sky Sports News: "We will be pleased with the draw; logistically Holland isn't too far and it will give our fans the opportunity to see the game.

"As you rightly say it's a reunion with Steve, and we are looking forward to it.

"When Steve was first-team coach for the national team and then manager they used to use our training ground (at London Colney) so there are good relations there."

Asked whether he thought McClaren would be disappointed to have landed such a tough draw, Miles added: "I'm assuming people will say Arsenal are one of the strongest seeded teams and he might have been hoping for someone else, but that's what the draw brought us and we get on with it."