Arsenal fought back to earn a draw against Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 clash at the BayArena, with Kai Havertz scoring a late penalty.
The German forward, who spent a decade at Leverkusen before completing a £71m move to Chelsea in 2020, calmly converted from the spot in the 89th minute. The penalty was awarded after Noni Madueke was fouled by Malik Tillman inside the box, allowing Havertz to beat Janis Blaswich from the spot.
Leverkusen had taken the lead early in the second half when Robert Andrich headed home from a well-delivered corner by Alex Grimaldo just moments after the restart. It was the first time Arsenal had fallen behind in the Champions League this season.
Arsenal entered the game with a perfect record in the competition, and manager Mikel Arteta rotated his squad heavily, making ten changes from the side that comfortably defeated Mansfield in the FA Cup fifth round over the weekend.
The Gunners began brightly and nearly took the lead when Gabriel Martinelli, who has scored six Champions League goals this season, struck the crossbar after being set up by Viktor Gyokeres.
Leverkusen remained disciplined defensively and nearly extended their advantage shortly after the break. A clever kick-off routine ended with Martin Terrier’s header, which forced Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya into a fine save to tip the ball over the bar.
However, from the resulting corner, Andrich found space at the far post and powered a header into the net to give the hosts the lead.
After falling behind, Arteta introduced Madueke and Havertz from the bench, and the pair played a key role in Arsenal’s equaliser. Madueke drove into the penalty area before being brought down by Tillman, prompting the referee to award a spot-kick despite protests from the home crowd.
Havertz kept his composure to send the goalkeeper the wrong way, although he celebrated quietly against his former club, which he joined as a youth player in 2010.
While Arsenal’s perfect run in the competition ended, they will be satisfied to have secured a draw and will head into the second leg next Tuesday with confidence.
