Two Invincibles of the 21st century collide in the last 16 of the 2025-26 Champions League, as Bayer Leverkusen welcome Arsenal to the BayArena for Wednesday’s first leg.
The 2023-24 Bundesliga champions navigated a two-legged playoff with Olympiacos to set up a date with the Gunners, who were the dictionary definition of flawless in the league phase.
Match preview
Always the bridesmaid and never the bride in all forms of continental competition – barring one UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1994 – Arsenal laid down no fewer than eight early markers with eight straight wins in a dominant league-phase campaign
Mikel Arteta masterminded successes against the likes of Atletico Madrid, long-time nemeses Bayern Munich and 2024-25 runners-up Inter Milan as the Gunners clinched first place unchallenged, with both the best offensive (23 goals scored) and defensive (four goals conceded) in the 36-team league phase.
As the knockout draw was also especially kind to Arsenal – who cannot meet any of Real Madrid, Liverpool, PSG, Bayern or Manchester City before the final – the expectation that 2026 will finally be the year of red and white ribbons on the Champions League trophy is only growing.
Still in pursuit of a never-before-seen quadruple, Wednesday’s visitors continue to face incessant criticism for their perceived dark arts, statistically-backed time-wasting and well-documented reliance on set-plays, but as long as the wins keep on flooding in, it matters little.
Arsenal trek to Germany on the back of their fourth straight victory in all tournaments, as a second-string side edged out a plucky Mansfield Town outfit 2-1 in the FA Cup, a result that saw the Gunners score 2+ goals away from home for the eighth time in 11 matches.
Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Blaswich; Andrich, Quansah, Tapsoba; Poku, Garcia, Fernandez, Grimaldo; Maza, Terrier; Kofane
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Eze, Martinelli; Gyokeres
