Arsenal F.C. secured a late 1-1 draw against Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 clash, with Kai Havertz scoring against his former club to rescue a result the Gunners arguably did not deserve.
The German midfielder converted from the penalty spot after Robert Andrich had given the hosts the lead earlier in the second half.
Arsenal began the match brightly, but clear chances were limited during the opening period. Gabriel Martinelli came closest to scoring when a well-worked team move ended with his powerful effort crashing against the crossbar.
Leverkusen struck shortly after the restart. Straight from kick-off, they pushed forward and Martin Terrier directed a header toward goal. David Raya reacted well to tip the effort over the bar, but he could do little moments later when Andrich rose unmarked at the back post to head in from the resulting corner.
Arsenal dominated possession for much of the second half and spent long spells in the Leverkusen half. However, they struggled to seriously test goalkeeper Janis Blaswich. Jurrien Timber came closest to equalising before the penalty but headed over from close range.
The breakthrough finally came late in the match when Noni Madueke drove into the penalty area and was brought down by Malik Tillman. Havertz stepped up and calmly converted the penalty to level the score.
Payer Ratings
Goalkeeper and Defence
David Raya (6/10): Handled the ball confidently and produced a good save to deny Terrier early in the second half. However, a few of his kicks lacked accuracy.
Jurrien Timber (5/10): Not at his sharpest, with several sloppy touches and passes. Could have offered more support to Saka and missed a good chance to equalise when he headed over from close range.
William Saliba (4/10): Occasionally troubled by Kofane and struggled with consistency in his passing.
Gabriel Magalhaes (3/10): Had a difficult night dealing with Kofane’s physical presence and made several mistakes both with and without the ball. An unusually poor performance from the Brazilian.
Piero Hincapie (5/10): Looked somewhat rusty while facing his parent club and never quite found his rhythm during the match.
Midfield
Declan Rice (7/10): Worked hard to push Arsenal forward and made several strong tackles in an energetic performance.
Martin Zubimendi (5/10): Often played safe passes and occasionally held onto the ball too long, which disrupted the team’s rhythm.
Eberechi Eze (4/10): Showed promise early with a few neat passes but gradually faded from the game. Could not prevent Andrich from finding space for the opening goal.
Attack
Bukayo Saka (3/10): Had a frustrating evening as most of his attempts to create something failed. Substituted after an hour.
Viktor Gyokeres (4/10): Started brightly and used his strength well early on but struggled to influence the game as it progressed.
Gabriel Martinelli (7/10): Arsenal’s most dangerous attacker on the night. Came very close to scoring in the first half when his powerful shot hit the crossbar.
