Morning, Gooners. Coffee ready? Good — because the Champions League is back tonight and Arsenal are off to Germany to face Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of the Round of 16. European nights, away grounds, and a knockout tie — what could go wrong? (Don’t answer that.)
The good news is that Mikel Arteta’s team news sounded refreshingly positive for once. Gabriel Magalhães, William Saliba, Declan Rice, and Martin Zubimendi are all available — which means the defensive Avengers should be back in action. Stability at the back? In this economy? We’ll take it.
There’s also a chance that Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori might be involved after their early exits against Mansfield Town, although Martin Ødegaard is still missing — which is less than ideal considering he’s basically the orchestra conductor of this whole football symphony.
Predicting the line-up tonight doesn’t require a doctorate in Arsenal Studies. The big names return in defence and midfield, and the main debate is who starts on the left wing. Gabriel Martinelli seems the obvious pick, especially considering he’s been treating the Champions League like his personal playground this season — six goals and an assist in seven games is not bad for a Tuesday night hobby.
There’s also the option of throwing Noni Madueke out there, but judging by the manager’s enthusiasm for that experiment earlier this season… let’s just say it’s probably Plan B, C, and possibly D.
Now, this isn’t quite the same Leverkusen side that went full “Invincibles mode” in the Bundesliga under Xabi Alonso, but they’re still dangerous. One man Arsenal will need to keep an eye on is Alejandro Grimaldo, whose attacking runs from full-back could give Jurrien Timber plenty to think about. Timber might want to bring both his defending boots and a spare set.
Interestingly, Europe has actually suited Arsenal better this season than the Premier League. Domestically, teams often park a double-decker bus in front of their goal and dare Arsenal to solve it. In the Champions League, though, opponents tend to play a bit more openly — which is exactly the kind of game this Arsenal side enjoys.
Kai's goal means it ends all square in Leverkusen 👊
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) March 11, 2026
Let's settle this at Arsenal Stadium, Gunners. pic.twitter.com/5gQZZJCGaz
And the numbers back that up: eight wins from eight in the league phase. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Speaking ahead of the match, Arteta kept things calm and philosophical:
“You have to understand very early what the game requires and adapt to it, then be better than the opposition.”
Which, translated from Arteta-speak, roughly means: play well, don’t do anything silly, and preferably score more goals than them.
“At the end we found our way to draw the match.”
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 11, 2026
Mikel Arteta reacts after Arsenal fought back to earn a draw in Germany.
🎙️ @archiert1 | 📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/JLQTUFRUk6
No pressure, lads. Just the hopes and emotional stability of millions of Gooners worldwide. COYG🔴⚪️
