Three things we learned from Arsenal draw as bold Mikel Arteta decision pays off | OneFootball

Gunners far from their best against Bayer Leverkusen as William Saliba and Gabriel endure an uncomfortable night

A sloppy, unconvincing performance from Arsenal and yet ultimately a decent result.

It was at least a memorable return for Havertz to the BayArena and his composed spot-kick was a moment that significantly reduces the jeopardy Arsenal face.

Bold Arteta decision pays off

When Noni Madueke was preparing to come on for Arsenal with not even an hour on the clock, you wondered whether Arteta was about to  make a big call.

Bukayo Saka, the captain on the night, had been incredibly poor for the Gunners. Time and time again Arsenal played it wide to him and repeatedly he lost the ball, whether when trying to skip inside past Alejandro Grimaldo or try and find a team-mate.

For most of this season Saka has looked up and quickly been surrounded by three players, teams keen to starve him of space.

Leverkusen were more open than a lot of Premier League sides and Saka had space to run into, particularly when David Raya released it quickly.

Bold call: Mikel Arteta

AFP via Getty Images

He did not use it. In previous seasons Arteta would have kept Saka on, hoping he would still make the difference, but here he had seen enough after an hour.

Madueke replaced Arsenal's captain and made a real impact. He was positive and direct with his running, capable of going both inside and down the line.

It did not always come off but it did late on when he drove inside and won Arsenal a penalty. The Gunners largely have Madueke to thank for the fact they are not returning to north London trailing on aggregate.

Arsenal beaten at their own game

So much has been made of Arsenal's set-pieces this season, particularly in recent weeks, but that strength did not make the trip to Germany.

The Gunners won a dangerous free-kick inside the first three minutes but Bukayo Saka's delivery was poor, barely getting off the ground.

Arsenal did not win a single corner in the opening 45 minutes and instead it was a Leverkusen routine that broke the deadlock.

Straight from kick-off at the start of the second half, Leverkusen ran at the Arsenal defence and caught them off-guard, winning a corner.

Opening goal: Robert Andrich

Getty Images

That was whipped to the back post, where Ibrahim Maza cleverly blocked off Eberechi Eze and Robert Andrick was left free to head in.

Arsenal eventually won a couple of corners, each greeted by an air raid siren from the home fans, but they came to nothing.

Before the match, Leverkusen's official X account jokingly tweeted a sign on the pitch saying 'no corners allowed'. How grateful they were that was not the case.

Gabriel and Saliba given real test

Arsenal were boosted by the return of William Saliba from a hamstring injury, while Gabriel was back in the side after being rested against Mansfield.

However, even with the trusty duo at the heart of defence, Christian Kofane caused real problems in the first half.

The Leverkusen forward is only 19 but he made Gabriel and Saliba look as uncomfortable as they have looked in a long time.

Gabriel was spun by Kofane early on and only a bursting tracking run from Declan Rice got him out of trouble. He then had to make a brave block with his chin after the teenager got away from him again.

Christian Kofane was a handful for Arsenal’s central defensive pairing

Getty Images

Saliba was similarly troubled. He was given a stern warning by the referee after pulling the striker's shirt while challenging for a header.

The pair were more confident in the second half, though there was still a nervy moment when David Raya had to charge off his line and a heavy touch from Saliba nearly left Leverkusen with an empty goal to aim at from the halfway line.

Not many have given Gabriel and Saliba the kind of test that Kofane did and plenty across Europe will be keeping close tabs on him.