Arsenal escaped at the BayArena with a 1-1 draw against Bayer Leverkusen after Kai Havertz converted a late penalty to cancel out Robert Andrich’s second-half header in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie.
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This was a below average performance from Mikel Arteta team, which had traveled to Germany thanks to a perfect record in the competition this season. Yet the equalizer allowed Arsenal to return to north London level and with the advantage of playing the second leg at the Emirates where they have already dispatched Bayern Munich. Arsenal’s current form, however, seems a far cry from what we saw that night against the German giants.
The Gunners got off to a cautious start at Leverkusen in a boring measured opening period. Declan Rice And Martin Zubimendi anchored the midfield effectively, helping to contain the hosts but never really going anywhere during a first half in which clear chances were few and far between. The teams went into the break with an xG of 0.32 compared to 0.38, which seems high, in my opinion. Martin Odegaard missed us very much and he is unlikely to return anytime soon.
Arsenal saw more of the ball with 55 percent possession, but their passing, particularly in the final third, was poor. Their only the best moment of the top 45 came when Gabriel Martinellifound by Viktor Gyokeres at the far post after a Ebéréchi Eze dummy, hit the crossbar. It was a quick and rare move that divided Leverkusen. They can do it. They just don’t do it very often for some reason.
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After the break, Leverkusen shot and found the advantage almost immediately. A corner – conceded after a superb David Raya save – was not properly cleared and Andrich arrived unmarked at the far post to head home from close range, punishing Arsenal for another lapse in concentration after the restart. Some fans though Èze was fouled in the box as the corner went in, but I think he went down far too easily.
Should Andrich have been on the field? Probably not. His two yellow cards against Gyokeres in the first four minutes came in just one. This non-call seems even stranger after the referee was happy to book Martin Zubimendi And Kai Havertz for the mistakes he had imagined.
Regardless, his goal left Arsenal facing their first European defeat of the campaign and forced Arteta into action. Noni Madueke replaced a poor man Bukayo Saka as the coach looked for a response to his team trailing for the first time in the competition.
The change proved decisive. Madueke was lively from the start and looking to make something happen. He played more passes in half an hour than Saka did in an hour (19 versus 20), with much more success finding his teammates (84% versus 95%). As he entered the penalty area a few minutes from time, he was brought down by Malik TillmanAnd Oumut Meler pointed to the place.
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Havertz stepped forward and calmly fired the ball beyond Janis Blaswichwho had taken the right path, to bring Arsenal level in front of the fans who had been chanting his name for a decade and waiting for this opportunity to say goodbye.
The tie now moves to the Emirates with the score level and Arsenal still firmly in contention to reach the quarter-finals, but they will need to find a better performance than they managed here.
They are showing a worrying decline in form, as if they are squeezing blood from a stone to get results, and Arteta desperately needs to find a way to get them to relax and run free.
