‘I was right’ – Mikel Arteta backs himself over call to take off captain Bukayo Saka in Arsenal win over Bayer Leverkusen

Arsenal came away with a lucky draw against Bayer Leverkusen, but things could’ve easily been worse if it wasn’t for a tactical switch.

Mikel Arteta’s side struggled away in Germany for the first leg of their last 16 Champions League tie and were saved by a late Kai Havertz penalty against his former side.

The spot kick was won by Noni Madueke, who came on in the 60th minute for captain Bukayo Saka.

Taking Saka off late in games isn’t unusual for Arteta and Arsenal this season, and the coach explained why it was the right call.

Speaking to the press and foot.mundo post-match, he said: “I felt we needed something different.

“Noni has been contributing and being a real threat, so I decided to make the change.”

Asked how impressed he was by Madueke taking the game by the scruff of the neck, he added: “I was very impressed — and I was right! I told him that’s his biggest quality.

“He’s very brave when he runs at defenders and he’s a real threat. I’m happy he stepped in and did it the way he did. We should be proud of him.”

Arsenal need to improve

Discussing his team’s overall performance, Arteta said: ” [The penalty was] very important, honestly.

“The game had different phases. In the first half we were very dominant and had a big chance with Gabi [Martinelli] to make it 1-0. There were major chances. When you don’t finish them the game can change.

“After that we didn’t finish our chances and the game became different. We were conceding nothing but at halftime we needed to show certain things.

“We expected to start really fast in the second half, especially because we knew the routines they have on kick-offs — they had three of them at the weekend and the day before.

“But we weren’t ready enough. We conceded a header chance and after that we gave the ball away.

“When you give that hope and advantage to the opponent at that level they will take it, and emotionally the game becomes a very different challenge.

“We had 10–15 minutes where we didn’t have enough threat or understanding of how to attack their block.

“But in the last 20–25 minutes, with the changes, it was much better. At the end we found a way to score.”