Arsenal 2-0 Bayer Leverkusen: Eze’s thunderbolt helps secure a European quarter-final

Match report – Player ratings – Arteta reaction – Video

Arsenal are through the Champions League quarter-finals after a solid 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen last night.

There were starts for Ben White at right-back, Leandro Trossard came back in on the left hand side, and Piero Hincapie slotted in at left-back. The visitors started brightly enough but it was Mikel Arteta’s side who made most of the first half chances. Twice Gabriel threatened from corners but couldn’t quite find his range; Trossard had a couple of decent efforts saved, one of which fell for White but his follow up was stopped by Janis Blaswich; and it looked as if their keeper might be about to pull off one of those nights to frustrate us.

Step forward, Eberechi Eze. I don’t think there’s a keeper in the world who could have kept his 36th minute opener out. Hincapie and Rice were alert as Leverkusen struggled to retain the ball after a throw-in in their own half, Trossard knocked it forward, before Eze swiveled and fired home a sensational shot that whistled into the back of the net. I think I wrote here a couple of weeks ago there’s something about the way he hits the ball that’s unique in this squad, the sheer power was incredible, but when you can couple it with precision like that it’s a heady mix. What a way to get your first Champions League goal.

Afterwards, Declan Rice said:

He’s got one of the best shots I’ve seen. Around the edge of the box, left foot and right foot, there’s not many players I’ve seen that hit the ball better than him. We need to keep giving him the ball around the edge because he can make things happen for us.

We then had a free kick a few yards outside the box that we somehow failed to take a shot from, before the half-time whistle gave us that one goal advantage going into the break. In the second period Trossard came close again with a shot that drifted wide, Viktor Gyokeres got one on target from distance but the save was routine, and the big Swede created some danger with a low cross after combining well with his teammates and fizzing in a low cross.

Just after the hour mark though, the lead was doubled. Rice was alert to a poor clearance, nicked the ball in front of the Leverkusen man, took a lovely touch to drive towards the D, and curled home an excellent shot in off the foot of the post which left the keeper rooted to the spot. It’s the sort of goal you look at and think he could score more often, but I realise it’s not as easy as that. Still, it was reward for his tirelessness in midfield, where he put in another high quality, energetic performance.

That prompted a triple change from the manager, with Gabriel Martinelli, Christian Norgaard, and Cristhian Mosquera replacing Trossard, Martin Zubimendi, and White, and seconds later Kai Havertz came on for Eze after he appeared to pick up a knock. A bit worrying but he told the TV reporter afterwards he was fine. A third Arsenal goal was rightly disallowed for both a foul and a handball by Havertz, and we sat off a little bit to protect the lead.

There wasn’t a lot of danger, a Jarell Quansah header flicked wider than it first looked, and a strange rebound off Saliba’s knee might have been problematic but it went behind for a corner. The clean sheet was ensured by a superb David Raya save with a few minutes to go, and it was a brilliant example of both athleticism and anticipation from the Arsenal keeper. Overall I think we were good value for the win after Leverkusen struggled to contain us the way they did in the away leg.

Afterwards, Mikel Arteta said:

We were a threat from every angle, their keeper maintained them in the game I think, and we needed a magical moment from Ebs to score a wonderful goal, a wonderful strike, to give us the lead. In the second half we had periods of domination, periods where they dominated as well because they are a really good side, and they are really good in what they do. And again, Declan’s actions opened the opportunity to go on and win the game and the tie. Overall, I think we fully deserve to be in the quarter-finals.

He also touched on Eze’s contribution, saying:

He is playing I think every three days now, he has a rhythm, an understanding with his teammates as well, which is what we want. Especially his level of activity, with and without the ball in the spaces that he moves, and the purpose that he’s showing every time he’s in and around the box as well. It’s a reason why he’s here, to create those kind of moments.

I don’t think anyone doubted Eze’s talent or technical ability, but consistency was the thing he really needed. Hopefully this is another step in the right direction in that sense, and with a lot of big games coming up, we see more of the widely reported Eze springtime end-product. Elsewhere, I thought we saw more signs from Gyokeres that his connections with those around him are improving, and despite not getting on the scoresheet, both our wide players, Saka and Trossard, were really effective and impactful in the opposition half.

So, all in all a really solid, professional performance and result, punctuated by two fantastic strikes as Arsenal continue their quest to make football worse by scoring the kinds of goals kids in playgrounds everywhere will try and replicate today. Monsters. The reward for progress is a quarter-final with Sporting who overturned a 3-0 deficit from their first leg against Bodo/Glimt to go through, so strap in for all the Gyokeres narrative that will accompany that one.

Now though, we can put Europe in the back pocket, and turn our attention towards the weekend, to Wembley, and the Carabao Cup final. More on that in the coming days. Stand-by for an Arsecast this morning to chat about last night’s game, and more besides.

Until then, have a good one!

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