Arsenal are back on familiar territory. For the sixth time in eight seasons they will contest the Champions League play-off and the stakes could not be higher. It might have been mentioned on this website that Luis Suárez wants to join Arsenal from Liverpool as they will offer him the Champions League football he craves but that would fall spectacularly flat if the club were to come unstuck in the two-leg tie that represents the gateway to the hallowed group stages.

For Arsenal, though, it is more than that. Much more. The Champions League group phase is their domain, they are practically part of the furniture and, in many respects, it has come to define them. No one at the club can countenance the failure to qualify, particularly not after the slog to finish fourth in the Premier League last season and it is no exaggeration to suggest that the new season hinges entirely on progress through the play-off round.

All eyes will be on the draw in Nyon on Friday morning and Arsenal, as the seeds with the highest Uefa coefficient, ought to fear nobody. They know what it takes to advance and even when the draw was unkind to them in 2011, pitting them against Udinese, they got the job done. Wojciech Szczesny's penalty save from Antonio di Natale in the second leg in Udine will live long in the memory. Previously, in chronological order, they have beaten Dynamo Zagreb, Sparta Prague, FC Twente and Celtic with the minimum of fuss.

And yet there will be the surge of nervous tension when the balls go into the pot; the potential, however great or small, for disaster. It would be worse if the draw was to be unseeded – Milan, Lyon, Schalke and Zenit St Petersburg would then come into the equation – but, as it is, Arsenal will face PSV Eindhoven, Metalist Kharkiv, Fenerbahce, Real Sociedad or Paços de Ferreira.

It is clear who Arsenal would choose. Pacos de Ferreira stunned everybody in Portugal by finishing third in the league last season – the best placing in their history – and this is uncharted ground for them. Their stadium in Paços de Ferreira, a small town outside Oporto famous for the manufacture of furniture, holds only 5,000 and they will play the home leg of the play-off at Porto's Estádio do Dragão while their annual budget of €3m would barely cover the signing-on fee for Suárez.

They excelled last season under the coach Paulo Fonseca, whose reward was to be appointed by Porto in June, and his successor, Costinha, the former Portugal international, will look to harness the youthful energy and attacking ethos of a team that has no real stars.

Costinha, whose assistant is the one-time Chelsea midfielder Maniche, is probably best remembered in England for the last-minute goal he scored for Porto at Old Trafford in 2004 that dumped Manchester United out of the Champions League and sent José Mourinho on his celebratory touchline sprint. For Paços de Ferreira, participation in the play-off is the achievement; a gold page in their history. Expectation levels are low, to say the least.

Arsenal might not relish a visit to Kharkiv, given their dismal record in the former Soviet Union. On eight previous Champions League trips to Ukraine or Russia, they have drawn two and lost six. Arsène Wenger, the manager, has spoken of the intense commitment that is found in Ukraine and Russia which can surprise teams if they are not prepared and Metalist, who have never reached the Champions League group phase, are already into their stride, having begun their domestic season on 15 July. Theirs is an improving team, which is expected to challenge Shakhtar Donetsk for the Ukrainian title.

There is, though, an asterisk next to Metalist's name, which denotes the threat to their participation in this season's Champions League. Uefa has opened disciplinary proceedings against them over alleged match-fixing and the governing body will hear the case in Nyon on Tuesday, in order to ensure that any verdict does not disrupt the play-offs. If the ruling is against Metalist, they could still challenge it at the court of arbitration for sport.

Fenerbahce are also mired in legal process because of alleged match-fixing. They were banned in June from Uefa competition for two years after a protracted inquiry following the scandal in 2011 but the sanction was temporarily lifted by Cas last month, allowing the club to enter the Champions League qualifying rounds. But Cas has not yet reached the final decision. It will do so before 28 August, on the eve of the group stage draw, meaning that Fenerbahce could still be excluded.

On the field, Arsenal will recognise Fenerbahce's blend of passion and technique, together with a few old faces from the Premier League – Joseph Yobo, Dirk Kuyt and Raul Meireles. Off the field, the picture is more uncertain.

PSV would arguably be the worst draw for Arsenal. The Dutch club are in the throes of renewal, following the departure of the coach Dick Advocaat, the retirement of Mark van Bommel and the sale of Kevin Strootman to Roma – others have also moved on – and, under the new coach, Phillip Cocu, there is great excitement.

Cocu has placed the emphasis on young players – his captain is the 22-year-old Georginio Wijnaldum – and there is a fresh attacking image; a confidence that comes from the fearlessness of youth. The 17-year-old Zakaria Bakkali and the 19-year-old Memphis Depay, both forwards, are ones to watch, while Karim Rekik, 18, the Manchester City loanee, and Jeffrey Bruma, 21, formerly of Chelsea, have formed a sound partnership in central defence.

There are parallels between PSV and Sociedad, who are also under new management, that of Jagoba Arrasate, and seek to play slick, enterprising football. Last season, under Philippe Montanier, la Real were quite simply tremendous fun, frequently high-scoring and always good to watch. Asier Illarramendi's £23.5m sale to Real Madrid has hurt them, undeniably, but they retain quality in central areas while one of their stars is the former Arsenal forward Carlos Vela.

"It is difficult because it is a stressful situation," Wenger said of the play-off. "We did try very hard, though, to get into the situation and now is the time to take advantage of the fact we finished fourth and qualified. It is always a very tricky period but we have the experience of having done it before."

How play-off draw works

The play-off round is split into two sections, one for champions and one for non-champions. Five teams from each section will qualify for the group stage.

Champions

Seeded: Basel, Celtic, Steaua Bucharest, Viktoria Plzen, Dinamo Zagreb.

Unseeded: Austria Vienna, Legia Warsaw, Maribor, Ludogorets Razgrad, Shakhtar Karagandy.

Non-champions

Seeded: Arsenal, Lyon, Milan, Schalke, Zenit St Petersburg.

Unseeded: PSV Eindhoven, Metalist Kharkiv, Fenerbahce, Real Sociedad, Pacos de Ferreira.