Arsenal were held by Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie on Wednesday night at the BayArena.
After a stodgy first half, Robert Andrich gave the home side the lead a minute into the second period, heading home from an Alejandro Grimaldo corner. It took the Gunners a while, but they eventually responded a minute from time when Kai Havertz confidently converted a penalty won by Noni Madueke.
The result sets Mikel Arteta’s side up nicely to attack the second leg at the Emirates next week, although they’ll have to play significantly better than they did in Leverkusen if they want to progress. Too many Arsenal players struggled in Western Germany, and this ultimately culminated in a poor overall team performance.
Bukayo Saka had an off night in Leverkusen
So much of Arsenal’s attacking strategy is built around their ability to feed Saka in space and rely upon him to create separation from a defender to unlock the opponents’ back four. In this game, not only were the Gunners unable to find their talisman in many dangerous areas, but on the odd occasion that they did, the winger failed to execute.
Arsenal fans weren’t impressed with Saka’s display, and they were right to be frustrated with the 24-year-old. His decision-making was unusually poor, he struggled to dribble effectively, and he managed just one speculative shot throughout his 60 minutes on the pitch.
| Saka vs Bayer Leverkusen Statistics | |
| Minutes Played | 60 |
| Shots | 1 |
| Expected Goals | 0.02 |
| Accurate Passes | 16/19 (84%) |
| Touches in Opposition Box | 4 |
| Touches | 37 |
| Key Passes | 0 |
| Successful Dribbles | 1/3 (33%) |
Arteta made the right call to introduce Madueke on the hour mark, putting an end to Saka’s Leverkusen nightmare. He will inevitably bounce back from this, such is the character he is, but it was unfortunately a night to forget for the North Londoners’ franchise player, who needs to step up during the run-in.
Noni Madueke should play more regularly for Arsenal
Saka’s replacement, Madueke, turned the game on its head. Prior to the former Chelsea man’s introduction, Arsenal’s attack was sterile and lacking the urgency required to salvage a draw.
The divisive wide forward immediately changed this. Intent on driving at the opponent’s back four with purpose and poise every time he received it in advanced areas, he brought some unpredictability to a barren Gunners side.
This directness ultimately led to the moment that secured Arteta’s outfit a foothold in the tie, when he drove inside with some neat and explosive skill, before being clumsily brought down by Malick Tillman. Martin Keown waxed lyrical about Madueke after the game, and in the grand scheme of things, the £52 million summer signing should be given more regular minutes and more plaudits.
Arsenal’s attack is becoming a concern
Arsenal took just six shots in Leverkusen, amassing around 0.8 non-penalty expected goals. Against Brighton, they managed just seven shots and 0.47 expected goals.
While these are two games that stand out as particularly bleak attacking performances statistically, the fact that they came in such proximity to one another makes them a potential concern. The Gunners are struggling to dominate territory and finding it difficult to build waves of dangerous attacks.
Martin Odegaard’s continued absence is certainly a contributing factor to these struggles. The Norwegian has been criticised for not providing consistent value in the opposition box, but he excels at getting Arsenal into dangerous areas, leading the Premier League last season for box entries via passing.
| Progressive Passes per 90 leaders in the Premier League 2024/25 (5+ 90s only) | |
| Martin Odegaard | 9.72 |
| Kevin De Bruyne | 9.46 |
| Adam Wharton | 8.84 |
| Bruno Fernandes | 8.69 |
| Trent Alexander-Arnold | 8.24 |
| James Maddison | 8.19 |
Arteta needs his captain back imminently, otherwise these blunt performance might derail their pursuit of the quadruple.
