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Piero Hincapie is on loan at Arsenal from Bayer Leverkusen and the sides have been dran to face each other in the last-16 of the Champions League next month
Arsenal have drawn Bayer Leverkusen in the last-16 of the Champions League. The Gunners will have to overcome the German side over two legs to continue their bid for European glory.
Mikel Arteta may be asking for inside information from loanee Piero Hincapie, who joined the Emirates from Leverkusen in the summer. The Ecuador international defender signed for Arsenal on loan but also saw a £45million buy-option included in the deal.
Can the versatile defender face his former club? Put simply, yes.
Unlike in the Premier League, where players cannot face their permanent employers, UEFA rules allow loan players to feature against parent clubs. So Hincapie is available for selection and is permitted to to face Leverkusen next month.
Famously, Philippe Coutinho scored twice against Barcelona while on loan from the Catalan side at Bayern Munich, in the quarter-finals of the 2019-20 Champions League.
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Hincapie is not alone in returning to a familiar stomping ground. Kai Havertz starred for Bayer Leverkusen before joining Chelsea in 2020.
The German international was a talismanic figure for the club as he scored 46 goals and made 31 assists in 150 matches. Of those 18 goals and nine assists came in his final season ith the club before departing in a £71m deal.
Leverkusen's sporting director Simon Rolfes has suggested he is still in touch with the Arsenal forward, who was cheering for his former side to qualify.
"With Arsenal, there might be a bit of variety. It would be great if we were drawn against Arsenal," said Rolfes ahead of the draw.
"Then we could finally say goodbye to Kai Havertz at our stadium – almost six years after his departure [for Chelsea].
"I was recently in contact with Kai. He would also be happy to see us again. He was keeping his fingers crossed for us to advance."
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