The last 20 minutes of that Bayer Leverkusen win were astonishingly boring. Everything the streets said about us was finally true, exactly at the point we needed it. Arsenal put Leverkusen to the sword in extremely Champions League fashion.
Scored two world-class, stunning goals.
Shut down Leverkusen to 0.5 xG.
Our defending is so good at the moment, a professional journalist had to ask whether Arteta was upset that David Raya had to make a single save in a round of 16 game in the Champions League against a team that unloaded 18 shots against Bayern Munich at the weekend. That’s where we are… concerns about our keeper having to do one serious thing all night.
As for the attacking football, well, 2-0 was very flattering for Bayer Leverkusen. Their keeper, Janis Blaswich, put on an absolute clinic, making a whopping 13 saves. He was so good, you did have a little sick feeling that he could be having one of those disgraceful nights that might end up denying us.
That was a story of last season — the bang-BANG moves of our last summer transfer window paid some sweet dividends. Eze, feeling himself of late, unleashed one of the most beastly shots The Emirates has ever seen. It was struck so perfectly, I think the player was a little bit in shock at the quality… this is a man who scores mostly bangers, and he looked wowed by his own superpowers. It really was a wildly powerful and accurate shot.
It felt… quite un-Arsenal.
Matt Kandela said on The AOP podcast that Arsenal have plenty of those moments at the start of Arteta's seasons, but there has been a notable ramp-up in special moments happening in 2026. Are we having a special season? It feels that way right at this second.
We didn’t bury Leverkusen. Our issue of the past has been the consistent pattern of playing with our food. Leverkusen were offering nothing… but the Champions League doesn’t work on what you deserve. Chelsea conceded 1.6 xG away at PSG and conceded 5. In the home leg, they conceded 3 goals off 1.09 xG. I felt for LinkedIn Liam. The quality of those strikes was quite insane.
I’m going off piste here… my point is the Champions League is an xG defier of a comp, you can’t hope on a 1-0 lead. So we… you know… didn’t.
Bayer Leverkusen made an unreal hash of clearing the ball out of the back, it felt like they tried every clever move open to them bar the traditional hoof. Declan pounced on the worst of the clearances, stepped into their penalty area and massaged a curled shot outside the far post, watching it bend into the far corner like it wanted to kiss the post.
No man deserved a goal more than The Captain. He is the most perfect £105m signing of all time. He is tired, he is carrying knocks, but every 3 days, he finds the reserves from deep within to cause serious pain to whoever lines up in front of him. What an unreal player.
We also can’t look past the boatload of heroes elsewhere.
Hincapie was brilliant against his old club.
Gabriel was a menace at both ends of the pitch, should have had 2 goals to his name.
I absolutely LOVED the Ben White cameo, get him in for the cup final, he has a different flavour to Timber, and I liked it.
Zubi felt a little more lively, there were more vertical balls, he looked energised.
Trossard, Saka, and Eze, all just working the system. Another day, that game is a battering. But the key for me… it just felt like an elite Champions League win. Controlled. Calm. Confident.
And listen, I’ll give it to Viktor Gyokeres. That was a much-improved performance. His control was good, I liked his running with the ball, he used his body weight well. It was one of his best non-scoring performances, and certainly one of his most complete. I think we’re always going to struggle with him in the Premier League, but it is clear, in Europe, where the defenders give him space, he is very difficult to handle. He deserved an assist for his great pass into Hincapie. Hopefully, he’s saving the goals for his old club or the cup final.
Now we move towards a cup final in exceptional form.
Man City? They’re in trouble right now. Their season has somewhat derailed. Dropped points against Forest and West Ham. Hammered by Real Madrid away from home. Their £500k a week keeper is dropping clangers. Bernardo pulled a bonehead move when he got himself sent off for blocking a penalty with his elbow. That meant City played 70 minutes against Real Madrid knowing it was over for them, and that was Pep’s last hurrah. The man who spent £600m to be good for his final season, added the two best Premier League players outside the elite, totally flunked out to a Madrid in disarray. 5-1 really is quite f*cking dismal.
What does that mean for the weekend’s cup final? Not sure. This game is a one off. It won’t impact much. But you can’t imagine the fatigue hangover is going to be good, can you? This is not the normal type of momentum that leads to really good things, is it?
But there is plenty of time to think about that. For now, let’s enjoy our progress, and the excitement of Viktor Gyokeres facing his old club in the last 16 of the Champions League. They managed to overturn a heroic Bodø 3-0 win with 5 goals. A hard game for Arsenal, but I’ll take it over most of the other teams left in the comp. Win that game, it’s Barca, Newcastle, or Atleti.
We’re through. 3 quarter finals in a row. When did we do that last? Who cares. It’s done. Grab yourself a morning work beer so everyone knows you’re both having a good time and dangerously unmanageable.
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Arsenal at this season's end