Champions League round of 16 second leg: Arsenal vs Bayer Leverkusen facts

Arsenal will look to build on a late-minute first-leg equaliser as they welcome Bayer Leverkusen to north London with the teams level at 1-1 in their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie.

An 89th-minute penalty from former Leverkusen striker Kai Havertz earned the Premier League leaders a draw in Germany on 11 March, Robert Andrich having headed Leverkusen into a 46th-minute lead.

Arsenal won all eight games in the league phase – the 14th side to finish the initial Champions League stage with a perfect record and the first to do so under the new format.

Leverkusen were 16th in the league phase before ousting Olympiacos in the knockout phase play-offs (2-0 a, 0-0 h) to reach the round of 16 for the second season in a row and the seventh overall.

Last match

The teams' only meetings before this tie came in the 2001/02 second group stage, a 1-1 draw in Germany – Ulf Kirsten's 90th-minute equaliser for the home side cancelling out Robert Pirès' opener – preceding a 4-1 Arsenal win in London through goals from Pirès, Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp.

Arsenal were 3-1 victors at home to Bayern München on Matchday 5, their only win in their last five games against German clubs (D2 L2).

The Gunners have won four of their last seven home matches against Bundesliga visitors (D1 L2).

Arsenal have lost their last five two legged ties against German opposition, all to Bayern, most recently 2-3 on aggregate in the 2023/24 quarter-finals (2-2 h, 0-1 a). They had won three of their first four ties.

This is Leverkusen's fourth game against English opponents this season. They won 2-0 at Manchester City on Matchday 5 before a 2-2 draw at home to Newcastle in their next fixture.

Leverkusen have lost only one of their last eight matches against Premier League teams (W3 D4).

The German club have won two of their last four games away to English teams (D1 L1) having managed no victories in their first nine (D2 L7).

Die Werkself have won four of their five two-legged ties against English clubs, most recently beating West Ham 3-1 on aggregate in the 2023/24 UEFA Europa League quarter-finals (2-0 h, 1-1 a).

Arsenal 

Having not featured in the Champions League proper between 2016/17 and 2023/24, Arsenal are making their third successive appearance.

The Gunners reached the semi-finals last season – their best run in the competition since 2008/09 – before a 1-3 aggregate defeat by eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Leverkusen

Leverkusen are featuring in the Champions League proper for the 15th time – although only the fourth in nine seasons.

In 2024/25 a team coached by Xabi Alonso finished sixth in the league phase (W5 D1 L2) only to lose an all-German last-16 tie to Bayern (0-3 a, 0-2 h).

Key stats

Havertz joined the Leverkusen academy aged 11, going on to score 46 goals in 150 games for the first team between 2016 and 2020.

Piero Hincapié joined Arsenal on loan from Leverkusen in September having made 166 appearances for the Bundesliga club.

Arsenal are aiming to reach the quarter finals for the third successive season, having ended a run of seven straight round of 16 eliminations in 2023/24.

The Londoners have lost nine last-16 ties – level with Porto as the most in Champions League history.

Arsenal have lost only one of their last 22 home European matches (W16 D5) and have scored three or more goals in six of their last nine Champions League games in their own stadium.

The Gunners have lost only two of their last 19 Champions League matches (W15 D2).

Arsenal have won five of their eight previous European ties in which they drew the away first leg.

Gabriel Martinelli has scored in Arsenal's four home Champions League matches this season.

Havertz has scored in five of his last six Champions League appearances.

Leverkusen have lost their previous six round of 16 ties, going down 0-5 on aggregate to Bayern last season. They have not reached the quarter-finals since 2001/02, when they went on to the final.

Die Werkself have won only one of their 13 round of 16 matches (D2 L10).

Leverkusen have lost only one of their last eight Champions League games (W4 D3), keeping five clean sheets.

The German club have won three of their last four away Champions League games (L1), keeping clean sheets in all three victories.

Leverkusen's aggregate European record after a home first-leg draw is W2 L2.