Mikel Arteta admits Arsenal “really had to dig in” to earn Leverkusen draw | OneFootball

Kai Havertz’s late penalty earned Arsenal a draw away from home against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday evening in the first leg of the round of 16 UEFA Champons League clash.

Mikel Arteta spoke to the media after the game and began by discussing the goal Arsenal conceded from the set-piece, as well as the kick-off routine from Leverkusen which led to Robert Andrich finding the back of the net just one minute into the second period.

He said: “We expected to start very fast, especially because we knew certain routines they had on kick-offs. They had three on the weekend and I said we’d get caught. We were not ready enough.

“We concede the chance from the header and we concede the goal. When you give that hope and advantage to the opponent, at that level they’re going to take it. Then we had to really dig in. Emotionally, it becomes a very different challenge.”

Havertz was the hero on the night with his 89th minute equaliser. Arteta touched on what it meant for Havertz, with it being a special return to the BayArena for the German striker.

The 43-year-old said: “Yes. How composed he took. Football is a funny game. It brings special stories. Him coming back here after such a long time, being part of this club, to come here and score such an important goal, I think it’s a big moment.”

Arsenal struggled to find a way back into the game due to the early blow in the second period, but Arsenal grew into it with the two substitutes, Noni Madueke and Havertz, making the difference. The Spaniard was impressed with his side’s response.

He said: “I like that emotionally we understood what we had to do. The level of execution obviously has to be better. It will be better in the second leg and we’ll adapt a few things.”

Finally, Arteta spoke about the challenges of knockout round football in the Champions League as well as praising Bayer Leverkusen.

He said: “Yeah, and how difficult it is to win against any opponent in the competition and especially away from home. There is a big factor there. Then you realise what we’ve done to win it in this competition because it’s so tough and nobody did it before.

“So, yeah, fully aware of that. We know the importance of the game and the difficulty of the opponent and now we need to finish it in London.”

Arsenal host Everton in the Premier League on Saturday, before welcoming Bayer Leverkusen to the Emirates on Tuesday for the second leg.