UEFA Champions League Prediction: Arsenal – Bayer Leverkusen (17-03-2026)

Arsenal’s incredible run of 8 games winning streak got cut short by Bayer in Germany. But now the English side have a great opportunity to remind everyone how great they are in front of their own fans.

Despite being heavily favourites M.Arteta’s men had a real struggle against Leverkusen and almost suffered a loss. Arsenal started the game with Martinelli, Gyokeres and Saka upfront, but besides the Brazilian the players had a hard time creating anything significant.

The first half ended goalless with both sides recording only two shots on target and the combined xG of 0.70. The second half was more successful in terms of shots on target and better chances.

Bayer’s Andrich broke the deadlock only 1 minute into the second half with a header from a corner kick, which is Arsenal’s one of the best weapons this UEFA Champions League season. The German side showed very compact defence which forced the Gunners to make the substitutions.

After N.Madueke and K.Havertz entered the pitch, Arsenal started to find more luck and with the game coming to an end M.Tillman careless tackle in the box got the attention of the referee. After the VAR review, Arsenal were awarded a penalty which was successfully covered by super sub K.Havertz.

The London side recorded only two shots on target throughout the whole game, but still finished the match with a decent xG of 1.64. Besides the goal, Bayer did not create anything significant despite having more shots on goal.

M.Arteta will have a light headache, because his attackers are showing a lot of inconsistency lately. It will be interesting to see how more chances V.Gyokeres will get as his performances are dull and G.Jesus and K.Havertz show better numbers in way less minutes.

However, the squad depth is basically unmatched and an away draw was definitely not a catastrophe. Arsenal are heavily favourites again and in home games they are even more dangerous. They should take over the game from the very first second of the game and win the game without any last minute drama. Think about it, when you will make your bet at the chosen best bookmaker.