Arsenal FC snatched a late draw against Bayer Leverkusen as Kai Havertz converted a dramatic late penalty to secure a 1–1 result at the BayArena.
The tense European clash looked destined to end in defeat for Arsenal after Leverkusen took the lead shortly after the restart through Robert Andrich.
The midfielder rose highest to meet an inswinging corner in the 46th minute, heading home from close range to give the hosts the advantage and ignite the BayArena crowd.
Arsenal had struggled to break down a disciplined Leverkusen side for much of the night. Their best chance in the first half fell to Gabriel Martinelli, whose powerful strike crashed off the crossbar after good build-up play involving Viktor Gyökeres.
Despite dominating possession for long spells, the visitors lacked cutting edge in the final third as Leverkusen remained comfortable defensively.
Goalkeeper Janis Blaswich was called into action several times to punch away dangerous deliveries, while Arsenal keeper David Raya also produced a crucial save early in the second half to deny Martin Terrier.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta looked to his bench as the game wore on, introducing Noni Madueke and later Havertz in search of an equaliser.
Madueke immediately injected urgency into Arsenal’s attack and proved decisive in the closing minutes.
In the 86th minute, the winger burst into the penalty area before being brought down by Malik Tillman, prompting the referee to award a penalty after a VAR review confirmed the decision.
Up stepped Havertz against his former club.
The German forward paused during his run-up before calmly placing the ball into the bottom-left corner, just beyond the reach of Blaswich to level the match in the 89th minute.
Arsenal nearly snatched victory moments later when Gabriel Jesus forced a point-blank save from Blaswich following a late corner delivered by Declan Rice.
However, the effort was ruled out after the referee pulled play back for a foul in the buildup.
In the end, both sides had to settle for a draw after a fiercely contested encounter that saw Leverkusen’s early second-half dominance cancelled out by Arsenal’s late surge.
The result leaves the tie finely balanced heading into the next encounter as both teams continue their push in Europe.
