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Full time: Leverkusen 1-1 Arsenal<\/p>\n
A job well done for Arsenal<\/a>. It wasn\u2019t a great game but the result is king and they are strong favourites to go through next week. In a game of few chances, Robert Andrich\u2019s header was cancelled out by a late penalty from the former Leverkusen star Kai Havertz.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 90+3 min Grimaldo and Havertz are booked for not much at a corner.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 90+1 min Three minutes of added time.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 90 min \u201cSurely set pieces are the meat and potatoes and\/or roast dinner of the game?\u201d says James Humphries. \u201cCan\u2019t see George Graham\u2019s Arsenal<\/a> having much time for a (affects generically furrin accent) _charcuterie board_, can you?\u201d<\/p>\n Where do Steve Bould\u2019s little eyebrows fit into all this?<\/p>\n Share<\/a>GOAL! Leverkusen 1-1 Arsenal (Havertz 89 pen)<\/p>\n Havertz passes the ball low into the corner. Blaswich went the right way, to his right, but couldn\u2019t reach it.<\/p>\n The former Leverkusen man levels it up from the spot. Photograph: Wolfgang Rattay\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.36 EDT<\/p>\n 87 min: Penalty given VAR had a good look and the decision stands. Kai Havertz is going to take the kick against his old club.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>86 min: Penalty to Arsenal!<\/p>\n Madueke, who has made a difference since coming on, surges into the area and is tripped by Tillman. There wasn\u2019t much in the challenge but a penalty has been given on the field.<\/p>\n Edmond Tapsoba trips Noni Madueke in the box. Penalty! Photograph: Wolfgang Rattay\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.34 EDT<\/p>\n 84 min Martinelli\u2019s cross is headed over from six yards by Timber, who couldn\u2019t quite get over the ball. Tough chance.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.29 EDT<\/p>\n 82 min: Arsenal<\/a> substitution Gabriel Jesus on, Ebere Eze off.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 82 min: Leverkusen substitution Jonas Hofmann and Equi Fernandez replace Exeuqiel Palacios and Martin Terrier.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 81 min \u201cWhy is there so much focus on Arsenal\u2019s meat-chess prowess?\u201d asks Peter Oh. \u201cWhat are Bayer, chopped Liverkusen?\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 80 min It\u2019s all Arsenal<\/a> now, though Janis Blaswich\u2019s gloves remain largely unsullied.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 79 min Madueke\u2019s routine inswinger is headed away at the near post. They need Madueke to win the corners and Saka to take them.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 78 min Madueke runs his man to win a rare corner for Arsenal\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 77 min Kofane leads another Leverkusen break, slips a defender on the edge of the D and leaves the ball for Garcia. He shoots high and wide.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 76 min \u201cCharcuterie!!\u201d writes Matt Dony. \u201cOk, we can all stop now. Joe Pearson has made the most Guardian joke imaginable in an MBM. It was all leading up to this moment. Take a bow, son. And let\u2019s all move on.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 75 min: Leverkusen substitution Ibrahim Maza is replaced by Malik TIllman.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 75 min: Arsenal<\/a> substitution Warm applause from both sets of fans as Kai Havertz, once of this parish, replaces Viktor Gyokeres.<\/p>\n Kai Havertz comes on for Arsenal. Photograph: Marvin Ibo Guengoer\/GES Sportfoto\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.20 EDT<\/p>\n 74 min Martinelli beats his man and stands up an adequate cross that just evades Gyokeres.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 73 min Lots of Arsenal<\/a> pressure now but it\u2019s all a bit sterile. Madueke has been good \u2013 and, more importantly, urgent \u2013 since coming on.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 71 min \u201cWith all this talk of a \u2018selection of large defenders\u2019 and \u2018meat chess\u2019, I can only think of set-pieces as the football equivalent of charcuterie boards,\u201d writes Joe Pearson. \u201cBut who gets to be the decorative herbs and the handful of unwanted olives?\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s my favourite ever description of Lionel Messi.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 69 min Zubimendi is booked for a foul on somebody. He won the ball but followed through with his studs; you can argue it both ways.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 68 min Since you asked, Christian Kofane continues to look a class act in almost everything he does. If he\u2019s not a star of the future, we might as well all pack up and go home.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 67 min I doubt Arsenal<\/a> will be too worried if this ends 1-0, especially now there is no away-goals rule. But 2-0 would be a different story so this is an important last quarter of the game. Leverkusen have played excellently to restrict Arsenal to so few chances.<\/p>\n Eberechi Eze has been very quiet this evening. Photograph: Stuart Franklin\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.16 EDT<\/p>\n 65 min Raya charges to within 10 yards of the halfway line to beat Kofane to a long ball forward. Excellent sweeper-keeping from one of the best goalkeepers in the world.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 64 min \u201cIf it\u2019s true that Arsenal<\/a> can\u2019t defend corners delivered to the back post they\u2019re going to have their hands full with Everton on Saturday,\u201d says Matt Burtz, \u201cbecause that\u2019s a team who likes to do exactly that, with a selection of large defenders to head them goalwards as well.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018A selection of large defenders\u2019 is my favourite ever description of James Tarkowski.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 62 min Palacios is booked for a late tackle on Zubimendi. The referee played the advantage and then went back once the move petered out.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 60 min: Arsenal<\/a> substitution Noni Madueke replaces the subdued Bukayo Saka.<\/p>\n Noni Madueke comes on for Bukayo Saka. Photograph: Stuart MacFarlane\/Arsenal FC\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.08 EDT<\/p>\n 59 min Rice\u2019s floater his somebody, possibly Hincapie, and goes behind for a goalkick.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 59 min This is effectively a short corner for Arsenal<\/a>. Rice is over it\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 58 min Arsenal have curbed Leverkusen\u2019s enthusiasm and are starting to dominate possession again. Martinelli is fouled just outside the area on the left wing by Poku, who has his name taken.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.02 EDT<\/p>\n 56 min \u201cThat didn\u2019t seem like a particularly tricksy corner from Leverkusen, and yet they scored,\u201d writes K\u00e1ri Tulinius. \u201cIt half makes me wonder if the meat chess that is the modern Premier League dead-ball situation has left English defences unused to dealing with a normal set piece.\u201d<\/p>\n MEAT CHESS! That\u2019s the football phrase of the year. Might be the phrase of the year full stop.<\/p>\n Delicious. Composite: Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.06 EDT<\/p>\n 54 min Scott Murray has the team news ahead of Real Madrid v Manchester City.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.19 EDT<\/p>\n 53 min No response yet from Arsenal<\/a>. In fact Leverkusen are the busier, more purposeful side just now.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 49 min That goal led to a (friendly) exchange between Leverkusen head coach Kasper Hjulmand and Arsenal\u2019s set-piece coach, I forget his name.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 48 min Well that\u2019s changed the mood.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>GOAL! Leverkusen 1-0 Arsenal (Andrich 46)<\/p>\n It was a temporary reprieve for Arsenal<\/a>. The resulting corner, on the right, was curled extravagantly beyond the far post by Grimaldo. Andrich arrived late, peculiarly unmarked, and headed decisively past Raya.<\/p>\n Arsenal have been Arsenal\u2019d. Photograph: Ina Fassbender\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.57 EDT<\/p>\n 46 min: Fine save by Raya!<\/p>\n Leverkusen almost take the lead inside 10 seconds. Kofane finds Grimaldo, whose early cross is headed towards goal by the leaping Terrier and pawed over the bar by Raya. That\u2019s a fabulous save.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 46 min The second half is under way.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Half-time reading<\/p>\n Heard the one about the game that produced 36 red cards?<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Half-time: Leverkusen 0-0 Arsenal<\/p>\n Lots of probing, not much penetration. Gabriel Martinelli came closest to scoring when he hit the bar after a crisp Arsenal<\/a> move. At the other end, Leverkusen\u2019s teenage striker Christian Kofane caught the eye without creating anything of note.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 45+1 min Nowt comes of the corner. There will be two minutes of added time.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 45 min Kofane has a 20-yard shot blocked by Saliba after a quick Leverkusen break. Maza backs up the play and wins a corner.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 43 min \u201cBayer\u2019s almost invincible team feels like it came and went so fast,\u201d writes Zach Neeley. \u201cTheir manager has already left and been fired from that new job*, Ange was fired by Forest a while ago and he started mid-season! Compared to all that, Arsenal<\/a> slowly building for a few years before winning the league would be positively old-fashioned.\u201d<\/p>\n * Possibly to next take over Liverpool, where Klopp\u2019s replacement has already won the league and lost his way(ish)<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 41 min Gyokeres turns smartly and finds Eze. He feeds Martinelli, whose nothing cross is booted clear.<\/p>\n Gyokeres has looked sharp tonight.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.53 EDT<\/p>\n 39 min Both teams continue to play with their guard up. You can understand why. Leverkusen are wary of Arsenal\u2019s quality; Arsenal<\/a> know they have home advantage in the second leg.<\/p>\n