Arsenal’s season grows more extraordinary with every passing week. A composed 2-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen at the Emirates, achieved in front of a raucous home crowd, secured a 3-1 aggregate win and booked a place in the Champions League quarter-finals for the third year running. With a nine-point Premier League lead, a Carabao Cup final on Sunday and an FA Cup quarter-final on the horizon, Mikel Arteta’s side are well and truly chasing all four trophies simultaneously.
The first half told the story of Leverkusen’s goalkeeper Janis Blaswich keeping his side in contention through a series of outstanding saves, and of Arsenal’s growing impatience as shot after shot was kept out. Leandro Trossard, Bukayo Saka, Ben White and Gabriel Magalhães all had efforts denied as the Emirates started to murmur with the nervous energy of a crowd expecting a breakthrough that kept refusing to arrive.
It came ten minutes before the break and was well worth the wait. Eberechi Eze controlled a Trossard pass on the edge of the area with his left foot, swivelled sharply and thundered a right-footed drive into the top corner. It was his first goal in European competition and his fourth in seven games for Arsenal, and the Emirates erupted in recognition of a truly brilliant strike. The quality was undeniable.
Declan Rice added the second shortly after the hour mark in similarly commanding fashion, cutting out a loose Leverkusen clearance, advancing purposefully and stroking a low, precise finish into the corner. “The Horse,” as the BBC described him, continues to justify every penny of his transfer fee through this run-in. His engine, his reading of the game and his ability to contribute in the final third have become central to Arsenal’s ambitions.
Arteta noted that Arsenal had “four or five situations where we should have probably scored the third one and put the game to bed,” which speaks both to Leverkusen’s resilience and to Arsenal’s attacking intent throughout. Even in matches they control, the appetite to score more rather than sit back reflects the mentality Arteta has instilled across the squad.
The quarter-final draw pits Arsenal against Sporting Lisbon, who pulled off a dramatic comeback against Bodø/Glimt to advance. On paper it is a favourable draw, but Portuguese sides have demonstrated their ability to surprise English opposition in European competition before, and the Gunners will approach those April ties with appropriate respect rather than assumption.
Eze was substituted before the end and briefly raised concerns about his fitness ahead of the Carabao Cup final. He quickly moved to reassure supporters, saying, “I’m alright, I’ll be ok,” which is the kind of update Arsenal fans needed to hear given the schedule ahead. Losing him at this stage of the season, during a run at four trophies, would be a significant blow.
What is becoming increasingly clear is that this Arsenal squad has the depth, the belief and the tactical structure to sustain challenges on multiple fronts simultaneously. Whether they will win all four is another matter entirely, but right now, nothing feels beyond them.
