Kai Havertz scored a late penalty against his former club Bayer Leverkusen as Arsenal rescued a 1–1 draw in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie. The result ends the Gunners’ perfect record in the competition this season and leaves the tie finely balanced ahead of the second leg.

Arsenal started brightly and quickly imposed themselves on the match, with Robert Andrich booked inside two minutes after dragging down Viktor Gyökeres during an early attacking move.

Leverkusen gradually grew into the contest, largely thanks to the energetic play of Christian Kofane. The 19-year-old attempted a speculative long-range effort that was comfortably saved by David Raya, while Ibrahim Maza fired wide after linking up with him.

At the other end, Arsenal came close to breaking the deadlock when Gabriel Martinelli smashed a powerful effort against the crossbar following a swift attacking move. Moments later, Gabriel Magalhães produced a brave block to deny Jarell Quansah as the game opened up.

Returning to face his parent club, Piero Hincapié also tested Raya with a tight-angle shot, but chances were otherwise limited as the game became increasingly physical rather than creative.

Just before half-time, Exequiel Palacios halted Bukayo Saka in his own penalty area before launching a counterattack through Kofane, only for Arsenal’s defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba to snuff out the danger.

Leverkusen made the perfect start to the second half. Martin Terrier forced a superb save from Raya with a header from the restart, but the resulting corner proved decisive as Andrich found space in the box and headed home inside a minute of the interval.

Arsenal attempted to respond, with Hincapié heading wide from a Declan Rice free-kick just past the hour mark. Shortly afterwards, Noni Madueke replaced Saka as the visitors searched for fresh attacking impetus.

Despite Arsenal’s increased pressure, Leverkusen looked largely comfortable, even when Jurriën Timber nodded a header over the crossbar.

However, the hosts’ composure collapsed late on when Malik Tillman slid in on Madueke inside the penalty area, conceding a spot kick. Havertz stepped up and calmly converted, beating goalkeeper Janis Blaswich despite him diving the correct way to level the tie against the club where he spent a decade.

The late equaliser leaves the contest perfectly poised heading into the second leg. It also means Leverkusen must settle for a fourth consecutive draw in all competitions, while Arsenal extend their unbeaten run to 12 matches.