After a night that few at the Emirates Stadium will ever forget and with a cup final days away, one of the most significant challenges that Arsenal and their supporters might face is keeping their focus on the task in front of them. Bayer Leverkusen have already proven that they are not an opponent to be taken lightly, and any drift of focus towards Sunday's EFL Cup Final against Manchester City threatens to be punished by the visitors from the Bundesliga.
It is curious how the Champions League is coming to be viewed by Arsenal supporters, at least this season. For Arsene Wenger, European glory was the white whale. The Gunners are probably the biggest team never to have lifted the European Cup. This should really matter, and yet when the draw for the last 16 was made, much of the fan conversation around the game was whether the club should be charging top-tier Category A prices for tickets.
That the minds of some supporters might be elsewhere is understandable. After three seasons of near misses, the Premier League has become the all-encompassing obsession of this team. Before then, winning an EFL Cup would be nice too, a chance to assert some dominance over their title rivals. Even Arteta's pre-match press conference was as much about Saturday and the Max Dowman of it all as it was a tie that, after a 1-1 draw in Leverkusen, remains very much in the balance.
Arteta, at least, is not one of those with his mind elsewhere. He spoke on Tuesday of an opponent that is "really well coached, a team with a very clear structure, really good individuals". As is his habit, he was doing all he could to whip up north London. "Obviously, we are in the stage, in the competition that we are in right now, so we know what we have to do, and in front of our crowd, with our people, putting all the energy in the world again, hopefully we are going to do it.
"A lot of factors will contribute for us to be in the quarterfinals tomorrow night after the game, and we need to put every single element that we have to be in our favour to achieve that."
Among those factors that will not contribute is Jurrien Timber, the right back having limped out of Saturday's 2-0 win over Everton with an unspecified issue. Both he and Martin Odegaard were ruled out by Arteta for Tuesday's game, though the latter is "really pushing" to be available for Sunday's final. On Timber, the diagnosis was less clear. "I think with him it will be a matter of days, but not sure." It is worth noting at this juncture that Arteta's idea of a matter of days is not that dissimilar to many others' several weeks.
Timber has been crucial to Arsenal's solidity at the back, but there were alternatives when he exited with nearly an hour of football left to be played. It was notable that the one Arteta went for was a repurposed center back in Cristhian Mosquera rather than Ben White, who has battled injuries since early last season. That White didn't get an hour rather prompts the question of whether a right back of his outstanding quality is ready to play from the off in the big games.
"Yeah," said Arteta, "he's in a much better place. He's been very unlucky this season in certain moments. He had very good moments as well throughout the season, so yeah, we need everybody available. We know what Ben gives us when he's at his best, and he trained today. He feels good, so we need everybody's contribution."
Arsenal vs. Bayer Leverkusen viewing information
Date: Tuesday, March 17 | Time: 4 p.m. ET
Location: Emirates Stadium -- London
Live stream:Paramount+
Odds: Arsenal -350; Draw +450; Bayer Leverkusen +850