Conceding a goal so soon after half-time against Bayer Leverkusen saw Arsenal enter unfamiliar territory in the Champions League.
Mikel Arteta will have a lot of questions for his squad after Arsenal were very poor against Leverkusen.
After putting together a perfect league phase campaign, the Gunners failed to win in a game outside of the Premier League for the first time this season.
That wasn’t the only unfamiliarity the Arsenal squad experienced, as their sluggish start to the second half added itself to the history books.
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Arsenal’s slow start to the second half against Bayer Leverkusen was historic
Leverkusen came flying out of the blocks, and their intensity didn’t drop, while Arsenal looked one-dimensional and out of ideas.
It was a performance that shouldn’t be forgotten to flag the need for improvement, and it won’t be, as it made history.
For only the second time in Arsenal’s history in major European games, the Gunners conceded a goal in the first minute of the second half.
You’d have to rewind to 2010 to recall the first time it happened, which was Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s goal for Barcelona.
Wednesday night’s goal was a particularly frustrating one to concede, as Arteta would’ve warned his side of the potency of Alejandro Grimaldo’s set-pieces.
His team switched off in that vital moment, as the Leverkusen full-back set up Robert Andrich’s goal.
Immediately after his half-time team talk, Arteta watched his team flounder when defending a set-piece, going a goal down on the night.
Thankfully, Kai Havertz’s 89th-minute penalty ensured Arsenal did not suffer defeat in the first leg, which was incredibly fortunate.
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It’s all to play for at the Emirates, and Arsenal will be more thankful than ever that the second leg comes at home.
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The home advantage was earned, as the importance of the Gunners’ record in the league phase is already on show.
By finishing within the top two of the league phase, Arsenal guaranteed that every one of the knockout games remaining in this season’s Champions League will see the second leg played at home.
The idea of the team, playing how they are, going away from home in the second leg, is far more painful to envisage than the home advantage.
It’s good news for Arsenal, but really, thoughts of needing a home advantage in the second leg should not have come so early.
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