Two positives and two negatives as Arsenal fight back to draw 1-1 at Bayer Leverkusen

Arsenal will need to go through more gears next week if they are to reach the quarter-final stage of the Champions League.

Their efforts in Leverkusen matched those of recent games against Brighton, Mansfield and Chelsea, with the Gunners finding it hard to get a rhythm. Torpid collective work led to a deserved home goal just one minute into the second half, yet the visitors stayed in the match and escaped with a draw via a Kai Havertz spot-kick at the death.

Positives and negatives as Arsenal come away with a 1-1 draw against Bayer Leverkusen

Not playing well but you still claim a result. Is it the stuff of champions? Apparently so, though it does not feel like it. At least the tie is level – Mikel Arteta will back his team to complete the job in front of their home fans on Tuesday night.

Here are two positives and two negatives that Arsenal can take from their 1-1 stalemate versus Bayer Leverkusen.     

Positive #1: Noni Madueke saves the day

If not for Noni Madueke, there is no chance the Gunners would be coming back from Germany with a draw.

He got subbed on after 61 minutes and brought a spark which had sorely lacked from the away effort up to that point. The summer arrival drove at the defence every time he gained possession, intent on making things happen, while it was his run that caused Malik Tillman to slide in and concede the last-minute penalty.

That impact is just what one expects from a star-studded bench; the fresh legs of a livewire Madueke helped Arsenal to take full advantage of a tiring Leverkusen team and might be the reason why they progress in this competition.

His impetus was a breath of fresh air amid a stale group outing and he will be hard to overlook ahead of the return leg.    

Negative #1: Another bad performance

At what point should fans get concerned?

Arsenal fell over the line at Brighton last week and did just enough to beat a spirited Mansfield Town in the FA Cup three days later.

They had nothing to spare here either.

Few stood out from the collective (David Raya? Maybe Jurrien Timber?) as Arteta’s men sleepwalked around the pitch. There was no intensity or heart from the performance and nothing epitomised the groggy effort like the Leverkusen opener, with Robert Andrich nodding in from a corner less than one minute after the restart.

It seems Arsenal deliberately set out to make these games a slugfest instead of trying to let their star quality shine (remember those handbrake accusations?) and it took an Andrich sucker-punch to wake them from their slumber.

Credit goes to Kasper Hjulmand for limiting the Gunners to so few chances, but one still expects the team to try force the issue rather than play with fear. Bayern showed no fear against Atalanta, Real Madrid swept aside a major Premier League title threat; can Arsenal let their obvious talent loose and stamp authority on the game too?     

If tiredness is to blame, then their trophy dreams could be in trouble.

Positive #2: Still in the tie

There is a nice habit developing at N5: even if the performance is bad, this team is managing to not lose.

And Arteta will be sure to remind them of that as he looks to mastermind a win in the second leg at Emirates Stadium. They were miles off the pace in Germany yet came away from the trip with a level score and, therefore, they ‘simply’ need to win the return match – buoyed by a home crowd – to reach the UCL quarter-finals for a third successive year.

If players are running on empty, then getting results in an energy-conserving style could be construed as a positive. Perhaps the boss will also say that a display that bad yielded a good result, so even just some improvement next week should see the Gunners edge their way past Leverkusen and keep the quadruple dream alive.

Hopefully this match acts as a wake-up call.

Negative #2: Bukayo Saka is off the pace

Bukayo Saka was dreadful in this match and Arteta has a big decision to make regarding who to start at RW next week.

Each time he got the ball, Saka proceeded to slow the game right down before telegraphing his next move – attempting to chop inside onto his left foot – and being dispossessed. In fact, the only time the outcome differed was when he slipped whilst moving forward with the ball as Arsenal looked to hit on the break.

His replacement, Noni Madueke, lit up the game in contrast and thereby built on his recent good run of form after an excellent goal in the FA Cup last Saturday.

Saka is the household name but reputation alone should not spare him a benching (not that being on the bench should be considered a bad thing either) and, at present, Madueke is offering far more on the wing when he plays.

Arteta was brave enough to make the substitution here and turn the tide; will he be brave enough to pick Madueke from the start next time?