Mikel Arteta is confident Arsenal will step up to the challenge and defeat Bayer Leverkusen when both sides meet again next week in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 clash.
The Gunners snatched a late 1-1 draw in their first leg in Germany on Tuesday, but will be overwhelming favourites going into the return leg next week.
Former Bayer Leverkusen forward Kai Havertz netted from the penalty spot in the 89th minute to cancel out Robert Andrich’s 46th minute opener in a tense affair.
Speaking during an interview, Arteta believes his side will be better than they were in the first leg and seal progress to the quarterfinals.
“[It is a reminder of] how difficult it is to win against any opponent in the competition and especially away from home,” Arteta told a news conference.
“There is a big factor there. Then you realise what we’ve done to win eight games in this competition [during the group stage], because it’s so tough that nobody did it before.”
Arsenal’s perfect record in this season’s cup competitions ended yesterday, which was the first time they had failed to win across the FA Cup, EFL Cup and Champions League this season.
The second leg will hold on Tuesday at the Emirates, with the winner advancing to face either Bodo/Glimt or Sporting Lisbon.
“Fully aware of that, we knew the importance of the game and the difficulty of the opponent and now we need to finish it in London”, Arteta added.
“The level of execution obviously has to be better and it will be better in the second leg. We’ll adapt a few things and yes, we’ll move on.”
Arsenal will shift their attention to the Premier League this weekend, where they will face Everton aiming for a victory to edge closer to winning the league title.
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