Arsenal club secretary David Miles said it was "nice to avoid" Barcelona and Bayern Munich during the Champions League group-stage draw on Thursday.
Although the Gunners weren't paired with the most fearsome of opponents, they will be tested by Paris Saint-Germain, Basel and Bulgarian side Ludogorets in Group A.
And Miles backed the club's "pedigree" to help see them through the knockout stage.
"This is our 19th consecutive season in the Champions League and of those 19 years we have qualified from the group stage 16 times," Miles told BT Sport.
"We have good Champions League pedigree but of course recently we have met with Barcelona and Bayern Munich and unfortunately failed at that hurdle.
"It was nice to avoid those teams, in particular, and I think on reflection we are reasonably pleased with that draw."
New signing Rob Holding told Arsenal's official website that he's excited to get a chance to play in Europe, which seemed a dream until his move from Bolton Wanderers this summer.
"It would would be a great honour and privilege to play in the Champions League," he said. "Some of the teams you come up against, such as the Barcelonas and Real Madrids -- they are some of the biggest in Europe.
"I'm looking forward to it. I will be over the moon to go over to their stadiums and play there.
"You have got to have those dreams. That's your ambition, that's why you get into football and what you aspire to do. You want to lift trophies and win things."