-myKhel Team

Arsenal enter their Champions League last-16 tie against Bayer Leverkusen with high expectations and extra pressure. Mikel Arteta’s side are rated favourites by the Opta supercomputer, which gives them a 27% chance of winning the trophy. Arsenal dominated the league phase with a perfect record and now aim to build on last season’s semi-final run.

Arteta wants that experience to guide Arsenal through the knockout rounds, starting with Leverkusen. Arsenal reached the semi-finals in 2023-24, their first appearance at that stage since 2006-07, when Paris Saint-Germain ended their run. Arteta believes the squad have grown since then and now approach the competition with greater knowledge and composure.

“They certainly have more experience in the competition,” Arteta said when asked if they were better prepared this season. When I joined, there was a big part of the team that hadn’t played in this competition. That’s obviously something that is necessary, like in any other competition, and they understand it better. Now we have to perform.

Arteta stressed that understanding the competition is pointless without delivering when it matters most. “I know that you have to be so clear what the game is going to demand, you need to perform on the day. The Champions League is about the day, and within that day, there are moments, and you have to be better than the opponent.”

Historically, Arsenal’s Champions League knockout meetings with German clubs have all featured Bayern Munich. Arsenal exited in the last 16 in 2004-05, 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2016-17, and again in the 2023-24 quarter-final. Those repeated defeats underline why Arteta views improved Champions League experience as vital in this campaign’s later rounds.

Leverkusen present a different German test, though previous meetings offer encouragement for Arsenal. Arsenal are unbeaten in two matches against Leverkusen, with one win and one draw. Leverkusen also carry strong form in this season’s tournament, as they are the only side who have not trailed at any stage, winning during 62% of their minutes and drawing the rest.

Arsenal Champions League ambitions across four trophies

Arsenal still compete on four fronts this season, keeping alive a possible quadruple, alongside Manchester City. Arteta, however, refuses to frame the campaign around that conversation. “I don’t use that phrase [quadruple],” Arteta adds. “I don’t know why they talk about when I’m not there. But we all know the difficulty of every competition.”

Fixture congestion is already intense, and Arteta highlighted the demands on the squad. “Starting tomorrow, we are changing from competition to competition every three days, and so far we’ve done so well, and we need to continue to do that.” That schedule means managing physical and mental levels while sustaining form at home and in Europe.

Arteta explained a personal approach based on daily focus rather than distant targets. “I live in the present, and I prepare for what I expect and what I feel every single day with optimism. Putting everything that I have in, and trying to transmit and inspire those players to feel the same way. And then this is football. We have to do it. There is so much to do. There is a lot that we have done, but the important part is coming now, and it starts tomorrow.”

As Arsenal prepare for Leverkusen, their recent Champions League progress, improved experience and strong statistical profile place them among the leading contenders. Past setbacks against German opposition, the busy calendar and Arteta’s focus on each matchday underline the scale of the task, with the decisive phase of their season now beginning.

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