Leaving aside the knockout rounds, the Champions League is back on the scene after a long hiatus. Arsenal, who were the first team in the modern format to make it through the league stage with full points, will face Bayer Leverkusen of Germany in the eighth round. The fact that their charges Mikel Arteta's have done exceedingly well in the Millionaire competition so far, does not mean that they are guaranteed a ticket to the later stages of the competition. On the contrary. It's a fresh start here, from scratch. So if the Canaries want to prove to the footballing world that they really have what it takes, they must continue their famous European form. One game at a time, starting with the BayArena clash. I believe the north London footballers are well aware of this, and I also hope that not only Leverkusen's game against Arsenal, but also the other games tomorrow Audience as attractive as the ones today. Now let's move on together to what you should know before the game.
Form
Looking at the current form, which you can see in the tables below, it is quite obvious that at the moment, the two teams are in a completely different state of mind. We will have to wait a bit longer to see how this form will translate into tomorrow's game.
Today, I'll add an unconventional addition some information about the table position in the regular season and Leverkusen's progress through the Round of 16 first round. The fact that Arsenal dominated the Champions League without losing a point has already been mentioned here today. So there is no need to comment on the Gunners' performance in the current edition of the millionaire competition. We will have more to say about Bayer Leverkusen. In the league phase of the competition, the German team has collected 12 points (3 wins, 3 draws, 2 losses) and finished in 16th place with a score of 13:14. Leverkusen played Olympiakos of Greece for the knockout stage, coincidentally, both goals were scored by the Czech national team's Patrik Schick. In the home rematch, Bayer kept the lead, the second match ended in a goalless draw, and so all the fans of the German team could rejoice in their progress to the Round of 16.
Arsenal
| 📈 Current form: 🟢 🟢 🟢 🟢 🟡 |
| ⚽️ Results: Mansfield 1:2 Arsenal (FA Cup), Brighton 0:1 Arsenal (PL), Arsenal 2:1 Chelsea (PL), Tottenham 1:4 Arsenal (PL), Wolverhampton 2:2 Arsenal (PL) |
| 🏆 Premier League position: 1st (67 points) |
Bayer Leverkusen
| 📈 Current form: 🟡 🟢 🟡 🟡 🔴 |
| ⚽️ Results: Freiburg 3:3 Leverkusen (BL), Hamburg 0:1 Leverkusen (BL), Leverkusen 1:1 Mainz (BL), Leverkusen 0:0 Olympiakos (CL), Union Berlin 1:0 Leverkusen (BL) |
| 🏆 Bundesliga position: 6th (44 points) |
Team and expected line-up
With Arsenal's last FA Cup appearance coming at the hands of League One side Mansfield, it's probably clear to everyone that The line-up will look radically different in Wednesday's Champions League match. Apart from the fact that the weight of the match is on a completely different level, the Mikel Arteta will have several returnees from the sideline at his disposal, who were absent from the lineup this weekend.
Expected line-up
Defensively, it will be a big return to the strongest lineup. After a weekend rest they will be back in goal David Raya. The same should also apply to the stopper pair William Saliba and Gabriel. He'll be operating on the right edge of the defence Jurriën Timber, while on the left Piero Hincapié, for whom this will be a very unique match. Technically, the Ecuadorian footballer is still a Leverkusen tribal player, from where he is a guest at Arsenal this season. It is expected that Arsenal will acquire the player permanently in the summer, but the situation now is that Hincapie still belongs to the German team. You all probably understood from the previous lines that Piero Hincapié can play against his parent team because the Champions League rules allow it.
The situation is similar in the centre of the midfield, where we should see a pair of Martín Zubimendi and Declan Rice, which will be completed Eberechi Eze, who, by the way, scored a great winning goal at the weekend. That's probably the most likely option in my opinion. On the other hand, I wouldn't rule out the possibility that the number ten position Kai Havertz. Just like for Piero Hincapie, Wednesday's game will be really special for him. The German offensive all-rounder has spent ten years of his career at Bayer Leverkusen, so I'm convinced that we will undoubtedly see him on the pitch (at least as a substitute). Let's be surprised what option the Spanish manager will reach for.
On the wings we should see the old familiar pair Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka. As far as the Brazilian footballer is concerned, he has really impressive numbers in the Champions League this year (6+1). In addition Leandro Trossard had to make an early substitution in this weekend's FA Cup game, so it is more likely that Gabriel Martinelli will start in the starting line-up. There are probably few doubts about the start of Bukay Saka, who is also wearing the captain's armband in the absence of Martin Ødegaard. On the top of the attack, the rested Viktor Gyökeres.
Absences
On Arsenal's medical staff, apart from the long missing Mikel Merino, who I probably don't even need to mention in this regard, still figures Ben White and Martin Ødegaard. Unfortunately, we won't see either of these three in the match at Leverkusen. As for the other players who had health problems (either after the last competitive match or before it), according to the available information they should all be available. No other absences are known, which can certainly be considered positive news.
Opponent
| 🏟️ Stadium: BayArena, Leverkusen (capacity 30 210) |
| 👔 ManagerKasper Hjulmand |
| 🧤GoalkeepersMark Flekken, Janis Blaswich |
| 🛡️ DefendersArthur, Loïc Badé, Alejandro Grimaldo, Tim Oermann, Jarell Quansah, Edmond Tapsoba, Lucas Vázquez |
| 🎯 MidfieldersRobert Andrich, Montrell Culbreath, Ezequiel Fernandez, Aleix Garcia, Jonas Hofmann, Ibrahim Maza, Exequiel Palacios, Axel Tape |
| ⚽️ ForwardsNathan Tella, Malik Tillman, Eliesse Ben Seghir, Christian Kofane, Ernest Poku, Patrik Schick, Martin Terrier |
Match
Considering it's a big Champions League game, but also the first of two games, I think, that we could see a spectacle that would be attractive to the audience. European teams don't usually play as deep a block against Arsenal as those in the English Premier League, so I think it may mean more football on both sides and, more importantly, less conquest. Another reason I expect a more open game is that Leverkusen will be playing on home soil. Since the German team is a fairly clear underdog in this double header, it begs the question, when else to try and catch the favourite than at home? I hope I'm not wrong, but I have high hopes for this game, which will be hosted by the BayArena in front of 30,000 people.
On the match itself. Bayer may be playing at home, but other key factors such as the quality and width of the squad, current form or injuries must also be taken into account. They all speak in Arsenal's favour. In terms of the quality of the team and the width of the squad, many experts have long been commenting on the North London outfit that they are one of the best, if not the best, team in world football in this respect this year. I'll pick up straight away with the injuries. Although Arsenal will not have a full squad available, Leverkusen are much worse off (at least numerically). We've already discussed form today as well, so just a quickie. Arsenal have gotten back on a winning streak after relatively recent wobbles and losses, something that certainly can't be said for Bayer.
At the very end I will just add my prediction for the exact result. Here it is. I predict Arsenal to win 2:0.
Next match
Arsenal close out the second week of March with a match in the domestic Premier League, which will see the Emirates Stadium welcome Everton. Specifically, the match is on the schedule Saturday 14 March 2026 from 18:30 (CET).
See you next time, I'll look forward to it!
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- Arsenal travel to Molineux for rearranged fixture
Editor, administrator and editor of the True Gunner Diary website, but above all a devoted Arsenal fan. I started with sports articles at the Tipsport bookmaker, where I have published more than 100 blogs. If you want to know more about me, check out the section of the same name here on the site.