Kai Havertz struck a late penalty to help Arsenal F.C. salvage a 1–1 draw against Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 clash at the BayArena.
The German forward, who spent a decade at Leverkusen before completing a £71 million move to Chelsea F.C. in 2020, calmly converted from the spot in the 89th minute after Noni Madueke was fouled inside the box by Malik Tillman.
Arsenal had fallen behind early in the second half when Robert Andrich headed home from a well-delivered corner by Alex Grimaldo just a minute after the restart.
The Gunners entered the contest with a perfect record in this season’s Champions League, and manager Mikel Arteta rotated his squad heavily, making 10 changes from the side that comfortably defeated Mansfield Town F.C. in the FA Cup fifth round at the weekend.
Arsenal began the match brightly and nearly took the lead when Gabriel Martinelli — already with six Champions League goals this season — was picked out by Viktor Gyökeres before firing a powerful effort that crashed against the crossbar.
Leverkusen, however, remained disciplined at the back and almost caught Arsenal off guard immediately after the break. A clever kick-off routine ended with Martin Terrier directing a header goalward, but goalkeeper David Raya reacted quickly to tip the effort over the bar.
From the resulting corner, Andrich was left unmarked at the far post and powered his header into the net to give the hosts the advantage.
Arteta responded by introducing Madueke and Havertz from the bench, and the pair combined to produce the equaliser late in the match.
Madueke drove into the penalty area before being brought down by Tillman’s outstretched challenge, prompting the referee to award a penalty despite protests from the home crowd.
Havertz stepped up and calmly placed the spot-kick into the corner. The 26-year-old marked the moment with a subdued celebration against the club where he began his career as a youngster in 2010.
Although Arsenal’s perfect record in the competition came to an end, the late goal leaves the Premier League side in a strong position ahead of the return leg in London next Tuesday.