Kai Havertz came back to haunt the club where it all began for him as he scored an 89th-minute penalty to ensure our Champions League round of 16 tie against Bayer Leverkusen remains in the balance.
A quiet first half’s biggest moment saw Gabiel Martinelli rattle the crossbar as we looked to establish a first-leg lead, but a slow start to the second half proved costly as Robert Andrich headed in a corner within 45 seconds of the restart.
But just as it looked like we were going to suffer defeat in the competition for the first time since last season’s semi-final, Noni Madueke was brought down inside the box, and after a lengthy VAR check, Havertz kept his cool to net from 12 yards and restore parity ahead of next week’s return leg at Emirates Stadium.
Woodwork rattled
The opening half wasn’t one that would live long in the memory as both teams – perhaps aware that there would be a second leg to play next Tuesday – kept their cards close to their chest and cancelled each other out.
Young prospect Christian Fofane hit an early drive straight at David Raya as a sign of intent from the host, but on 19 minutes we nearly went ahead with the best piece of attacking play in the opening 45.
Bukayo Saka brought the ball down the right and played in Jurrien Timber. His low centre was dummied by Ebere Eze, held up by Viktor Gyokeres and laid into Gabriel Martinelli’s path for the Brazilian to thump a shot off the bar, with the ricochet just evading Saka.
Playing against his parent club, Piero Hincapie was back on familiar territory and he tried to get on the scoresheet on his return but could only shoot powerfully at Janis Blaswich in the Leverkusen goal who made a routine stop, while the first half came to a close just after Ibrahim Maza dragged an effort well wide.
Hosts strike first
We went into the break maintaining our record as the only team that hadn’t trailed at any point in the Champions League this season, but within 45 seconds of the restart that record ended.
It took just 10 seconds for us to be put under pressure as Leverkusen caught us napping from the restart and swiftly conjured up an opportunity for Martin Terrier but Raya managed to tip his header over the bar.
But from the resulting corner, Alejandro Grimaldo whipped a corner over to the back post, where captain Andrich was on hand to squeeze a header past Raya.
However after that rip-roaring start to the second half, it once again returned to a cagey affair with little in the way of goalmouth action, aside from a couple of wayward attempts from the home team.
Havertz the hero
Mikel Arteta attempted to freshen things up by bringing on Madueke and Havertz, who received a warm welcome from the supporters who used to adore him during his 10 years at the club, where he progressed through the ranks.
However they would be rueing his return with a minute to play when Madueke burst into the box and was brought down by a defender. The referee pointed straight to the spot, a lengthy VAR check followed before some schaningans from the home players delayed things further, however Kai kept his cool and beat Blaswich to earn us a draw.
What’s next
We’re back in Premier League action on Saturday when Everton head to N5 for an early-evening kick-off, before the return leg against Leverkusen in north London on Tuesday. Then we’re off to Wembley for the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City on Sunday, March 22.
Copyright 2026 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
