Arsenal’s Champions League campaign resumes on Wednesday evening as Mikel Arteta’s side travel to Western Germany to take on Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16.
The Gunners narrowly beat Mansfield Town in their last outing, with goals from Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze securing their passage into the FA Cup quarter-final. Having already sealed a spot in the Carabao Cup final, and riding high at the top of the Premier League, the North Londoners are on the path to winning a remarkable and unprecedented quadruple.
However, Arteta’s men will have to overcome a stubborn Leverkusen side to reach the last eight of Europe’s elite club competition. Die Werkself may not be in potent form, winning just one of their last five matches across all competitions, but they boast some of the more impressive underlying numbers in the Bundesliga and still have a number of core players from their title-winning season in 2023/24.
Here are the key battles that we believe could be pivotal in dictating the outcome of the game at the BayArena.
Jurrien Timber vs Alejandro Grimaldo
While Leverkusen’s underlying metrics indicate that they are one of the best defensive teams in Germany, they have somewhat underwhelmed offensively this term. Kasper Hjulmand’s outfit have limited attacking threat, and thus, Arsenal should be able to contain them with relative ease.
That said, the German side do possess a handful of players who can produce moments of attacking quality out of very little. One of these, perhaps unconventionally, is left-wing-back Alejandro Grimaldo.
The Spaniard is Leverkusen’s attacking outlet down the left, and he’s already contributed to 20 goals this season across all competitions. Capable of delivering a pinpoint cross into target man Patrick Schick, or of popping up at the back post to score himself, Grimaldo is a threat, and Jurrien Timber will have to keep close tabs on him.
The Dutchman’s ability to manage the 30-year-old will likely dictate how threatening Leverkusen are able to be.
Bukayo Saka vs Edmond Tapsoba
Like Leverkusen with Grimaldo, Saka is Arsenal’s primary threat in the final third, and the team’s success from an offensive standpoint is often contingent on how well he plays.
With Grimaldo bombing forward on Leverkusen’s left, there could be plenty of space for Saka to exploit. That said, die Werkself’s left-centre-back Edmond Tapsoba will come across to cover for the former Benfica man, and will be locked in a direct battle with Saka.
If Arsenal’s talisman can pull the Burkina Faso international wide with his movement, it should create space in the right half-space for either Timber or Eze to take advantage of. However, Tapsoba’s rangy and aggressive style is often the type of defensive proposition that Saka struggles to threaten.
| Bukayo Saka’s statistics this season (all competitions) | |
| Appearances | 38 |
| Goals | 9 |
| Assists | 5 |
| Shots per 90 | 2.78 |
| Expected Goals per 90 (non-penalty) | 0.29 |
| Expected Assists per 90 | 0.27 |
Eberechi Eze vs Exequiel Palacios
Leverkusen’s defensive midfielder Exequiel Palacios has been a staple figure in the Bundesliga outfit’s midfield for several years. Exceptional at covering space, making defensive interventions and distributing the ball from deep, he is the beating heart of Leverkusen’s team when fit.
He and Aleix Garcia or Robert Andrich will be tasked with tracking Eze’s movement in between the lines, and it’ll be up to them to prevent the former Crystal Palace man from influencing proceedings in the final third.
If Eze can escape their presence with some intelligent movement, then he has the ability to cause Leverkusen’s backline serious issues.
