\n<\/p>\n
Arsenal secured a 2-0 victory (3-1 aggregate) over Bayer Leverkusen to progress in the Champions League, delivering a controlled performance across the 90 minutes.<\/strong><\/p>\n Mikel Arteta\u2019s side created the better chances and showed composure in key moments. Goals from Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice proved decisive on the night.<\/strong><\/p>\n The result keeps Arsenal\u2019s European hopes alive as they continue to build momentum in the competition and encouragement for Sunday\u2019s League Cup final against Premier League title rivals Manchester City.<\/p>\n Arsenal started with intent and created early pressure in the final third.<\/p>\n Eberechi Eze opened the scoring in the first half, finishing calmly after a well-worked attacking move. The goal gave Arsenal control and allowed them to dictate the tempo.<\/p>\n Leverkusen saw more of the ball at times but struggled to create clear chances. Arsenal remained organised and limited the visitors to minimal opportunities.<\/p>\n Declan Rice doubled the lead in the second half with a composed finish. His goal effectively secured the result and capped a strong midfield performance.<\/p>\n Arsenal continued to manage the game well in the closing stages and saw out the result without any major issues.<\/p>\n David Raya \u2013 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n Made the saves required and stayed composed in possession. Did not face sustained pressure but handled everything cleanly. Especially with a remarkable save to keep Leverkusen from adding a late consolation goal.<\/p>\n Ben White \u2013 7\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n Provided balance on the right and supported attacks well. Defended his side without issues.<\/p>\n William Saliba \u2013 7\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n Read the game well and dealt with Leverkusen\u2019s forwards comfortably. Another steady display.<\/p>\n Gabriel \u2013 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n Dominant in duels and aggressive in defensive situations. Set the tone at the back.<\/p>\n Piero Hincapi\u00e9 \u2013 9\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n Outstanding on the left. Contributed defensively and carried the ball forward with intent. Best performance out of the backline against former club Leverkusen.<\/p>\n Martin Zubimendi \u2013 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n Controlled the tempo and kept the midfield ticking. Positioned himself well throughout.<\/p>\n Declan Rice \u2013 9\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n Covered ground effectively and added a goal. Delivered a complete midfield performance.<\/p>\n Bukayo Saka \u2013 7\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n Showed flashes of quality and remained a constant threat. Linked play well in attacking areas.<\/p>\n Mercy of the King \u2013 10\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n The standout performer. Took his goal well and influenced the game consistently in advanced areas.<\/p>\n Leandro Trossard \u2013 6\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n Worked hard but lacked sharpness in the final third. Struggled to make a decisive impact.<\/p>\n Viktor Gyokeres \u2013 6\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n Battled physically but did not see enough of the ball. Limited influence on the game.<\/p>\n Kai Havertz \u2013 5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n Did not impact the game after coming on. Struggled to get involved.<\/p>\n Gabriel Martinelli \u2013 5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n Added energy but lacked end product in the final third.<\/p>\n Cristian Mosquera \u2013 6\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n Settled in quickly and helped maintain defensive structure.<\/p>\n Christian Norgaard \u2013 6\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n Kept things simple and added control late on.<\/p>\n Myles Lewis-Skelly \u2013 5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n Was subbed on in the dying minutes to replace Gyokores and keep a balanced defensive display to end the 2nd leg.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Arsenal secured a 2-0 victory (3-1 aggregate) over Bayer Leverkusen to progress in the Champions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Match highlights<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Arsenal player ratings vs Bayer Leverkusen<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Substitutes<\/strong><\/h2>\n