Arsenal visit Bayer Leverkusen hoping to take control ahead of the home leg | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta’s team, leaders of the Premier League, will play this Wednesday at the BayArena with the aim of taking the lead in the round of 16 series against the German side.

Arsenal will visit Bayer Leverkusen this Wednesday at the BayArena, in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16. The team led by Mikel Arteta, leaders of the Premier League, will look to start the series with a victory that brings them closer to the quarterfinals.

The London side is going through a great moment and keeps its hopes alive in four competitions: the Premier League, the Champions League, the FA Cup, and the EFL Cup, whose final they will play on March 22 against Manchester City managed by Pep Guardiola.

Ahead of the match, Arteta emphasized his team’s ambition, though with caution: “I prepare myself as best as possible for everything and try to inspire my players. In football, you have to prove things every day.” For this match, the coach will have William Saliba back, who has recovered from his injury and will return to the starting eleven.

Additionally, Martín Zubimendi, Gabriel Magalhães, and Declan Rice will return to the starting lineup, having been rested in the 2-1 victory over Mansfield Town in the FA Cup round of 16. The main absence will be Martin Ødegaard, while Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori remain doubtful.

The match will also have special significance for Kai Havertz and Piero Hincapié, Arsenal players who will face their former team, Bayer Leverkusen. In addition, the English side already knows their next opponent in the FA Cup, where they will face Southampton in the quarterfinals.

For their part, Leverkusen arrives with an inconsistent run in the Bundesliga, where they are sixth and are coming off a 3-3 draw against SC Freiburg. Despite this, their coach Kasper Hjulmand showed confidence ahead of the European clash.

“Arsenal are the big favorites and perhaps the best team in Europe right now, but we have already played very well against top teams. In football, anything is possible. We are among the best 16 and we have to enjoy it with our fans,” said the coach of the German side.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.