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Arsenal face Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League last-16 on Wednesday night
Mikel Arteta knows his Arsenal side have “no margin” for any mistakes if they are to win the Champions League.
The Gunners take on Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday night in the first leg of the round-of-16, aiming to reach the quarter-finals of the competition for a third successive season.
After winning all eight games in the league phase of the competition and topping the table, Arteta is confident his side now belong in these crunch matches in Europe’s elite competition.
“I believe so,” said Arsenal manager Arteta. “This is football, and you have to show it (tonight). I know that you have to be so clear what the team is going to demand. You need to perform on the day.
“We start to play games where you are in, or you are out, but there is no margin for manoeuvre, so we’re going to face a very difficult contest tomorrow against a really good team.”
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Leverkusen coach Kasper Hjulmand knows the size of the task facing his side, who are a shadow of the invincible double-winning team of two seasons ago and currently lie sixth in the Bundesliga.
“Arsenal are obviously the big favourites, and maybe the best team in Europe right now,” said Hjulmand.
“But we’ve played very well against big teams before. It’s football. Anything is possible. We’re in the last 16 and we have to enjoy this situation and these big games.”
Now fit again, Kai Havertz is preparing to take on his former club. Havertz admits the injuries he has suffered over the last two seasons have been the toughest challenge of his career.
The Arsenal forward required surgery on a serious hamstring injury last term, and then needed a knee operation earlier this season.
“It was stop and start, but sometimes football is like this. I haven’t really faced a challenge like this before in my career,” said Havertz.
“For me it was just tough because I never felt that pain before in my life and it just came randomly.
“But I tried to go through these things and obviously I got my support from at home as well and my family. You know, that helped me a lot during that time.
“Having two surgeries one after another is not easy. But I think I’m professional enough to know that’s also part of football sometimes.
“And I know that there are so many players out there that went through stages of their career also. I’m still young, so I have a lot of years hopefully in front of me.”
Havertz came through Leverkusen’s academy and scored 46 goals in 150 appearances before moving to Chelsea in 2020.
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