Mikel Arteta praised Arsenal’s reaction to going a goal down against Bayer Leverkusen, though he was far less pleased with the way his side conceded less than a minute into the second half, despite having warned the players about the home side’s kick-off routines.
After a fairly drab first half, the Bundesliga side burst out quickly after the restart. Martin Terrier’s header forced David Raya into a fingertip save following a well-worked move from kick-off. Arsenal should have taken the hint, but didn’t. Moments later, Robert Andrich slipped away from Eberechi Eze and, unmarked at the back post, headed home an inswinging corner.
While Leverkusen rarely looked like adding a second, the Gunners were similarly blunt in the final third. Only after Bukayo Saka was replaced by Noni Madueke did they begin to carry more threat. Madueke’s persistence on the ball eventually paid off in the closing stages when he was clipped in the box. Fellow substitute Kai Havertz, facing his former club, stepped up and calmly rolled in the penalty to leave the tie finely balanced.
“The game had very different periods,” Arteta told TNT Sports.
“We started the game quite well, had a massive chance with Martinelli when he hit the crossbar. In those moments, if you score, the game changes completely.
“We had a certain dominance, but we didn’t finish enough actions, and that allows certain counter-attacks, especially when we were hitting the box, and they are quite dangerous with that.
“We wanted to start very strong in the second half, and we’ve done completely the opposite.
“We started not paying enough attention to the kick-off, which we already discussed before the match. From there, they have a clear header, and after that, they score the goal. And then it’s obviously game on, and the tie changes completely.
“After that, we had to stay emotionally very composed. We improved in certain areas with the changes, we improved as well. We have more presence, more threat on the wings and at the end, we find a way to draw the match.”
On his side’s start to the second half, he continued:
“These are the details, everybody is so prepared in every action and we knew that they had certain routines because they’ve done it a few days ago in the Bundesliga three times in a row.
“We showed those images \[to the players\], but then you have to see it and do it, and we haven’t done it, and we paid the price for it.”
If that was the frustration, the positives largely came from the bench. Madueke in particular made an immediate impact, driving forward whenever he could, even if his final ball was occasionally lacking.
“He was really good,” noted Arteta. “Straightaway, he changed the rhythm, the dynamic, the threat; he had a big impact in the result.”
The manager was also pleased to see Havertz, back on familiar turf, calmly convert from the spot.
“Football has very funny and nice stories, it was really impressive the way he took the penalty, how composed he was, and obviously it was a big goal for us.”
Arsenal now turn their attention to Everton’s visit to the Emirates on Saturday, with the return leg against Leverkusen just three days later.
“We will have to use now the home advantage, the tie is fifty-fifty at the moment. There’s a lot to do, and we’re going to need our people to be at our best.”