LEVERKUSEN, Germany — Mikel Arteta has vowed Arsenal will improve and “finish it in London” after their Champions League hopes were tested during a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen.
Substitute Kai Havertz‘s 89th-minute penalty cancelled out Robert Andrich’s 46th-minute header in Wednesday’s round-of-16 first leg clash.
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The Gunners were disappointing for long periods in Germany. After Gabriel Martinelli struck the crossbar with an early chance, they managed just two shots on target all evening as the hosts threatened an upset.
But following Havertz’ nerveless spot-kick, Arsenal will now be strong favourites to progress to the quarterfinals for the third consecutive year in next Tuesday’s return leg at Emirates Stadium, when Arteta admitted they must raise their game.
“[It is a reminder of] how difficult it is to win against any opponent in the competition and especially away from home,” he told a news conference.
“There is a big factor there. Then you realise what we’ve done to win eight games in this competition [during the group stage], because it’s so tough that nobody did it before.
“Fully aware of that, we knew the importance of the game and the difficulty of the opponent and now we need to finish it in London.
“The level of execution obviously has to be better and it will be better in the second leg. We’ll adapt a few things and yes, we’ll move on.”
Arteta also praised Havertz’s calmness under pressure against his former club. The 26-year-old spent a decade at Leverkusen — joining as a 10-year-old — before leaving for Chelsea in 2020. He later joined Arsenal in 2023.
Havertz was presented with a framed picture capturing his time at Leverkusen before kick-off and was applauded onto the field when introduced for Viktor Gyökeres with 16 minutes remaining.
“Football is a funny game and it brings special stories and him coming back here after such a long time, being part of this club, to come here and score such an important goal, I think it’s a big moment,” said Arteta.
The Germany international said his familiarity with the BayArena paid dividends.
“I know the stadium well and have taken many penalties from this spot,” Havertz said.
“The time between the penalty whistle and the penalty kick felt like an eternity. “But in the end, you have to be mentally present in those moments.”
Leverkusen boss Kasper Hjulmand rued Turkish referee Umut Meler’s decision to award the spot-kick after Malik Tillman‘s challenge on Noni Madueke.
“For me it is not a penalty,” he said. “Sometimes the referee shouldn’t blow the whistle and then check with the VAR. Then it is 100 percent safe and secure. If he whistles, it is not [a] clear and obvious [mistake] so it stays.”
