‘We Have to’—Mikel Arteta Challenges Arsenal Squad Amid Bold Leverkusen Claim

London — Mikel Arteta has told his Arsenal players that the immaculate standards they set in the Champions League group stage “have to” be reproduced when the knockout phase begins against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday night.

The Gunners became the first side in the competition’s new league-phase format to win all eight fixtures, scoring 23 goals and never once trailing. Sitting atop the Premier League table as well, they have been touted as Europe’s form team, a label Arteta accepts — but only if his squad reaffirms it on the pitch.

“I believe so,” the Spaniard said when asked whether Arsenal deserve to be classed among the continent’s elite. “This is football and you have to show it tomorrow night.”

Arteta inherited a club that had been absent from Europe’s premier tournament since 2017. A quarter-final exit in 2023-24 was followed by a semi-final run last season, and the manager senses the squad is now ready for the next step.

“When I joined, a big part of the team had never played in this competition,” he noted. “They understand it better. Now we have to perform.”

Standing in their way is a Leverkusen side that has ridden a turbulent campaign. Erik ten Hag was dismissed after three matches, and successor Kasper Hjulmand remained unbeaten in his opening seven games before a 7-2 drubbing by Paris Saint-Germain. Still, the Bundesliga outfit own the league’s third-best defensive numbers and arrive with recent wins over Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig.

“Arsenal are perhaps the best team in Europe at the moment,” Hjulmand conceded. “They finished first in the league phase of the Champions League and won all their games, scored the most goals and conceded the fewest. It’s one of the most difficult challenges, but we’re really looking forward to it.”

The Danish coach stressed self-belief will be pivotal. “Anything is possible in football. We’ll give everything at home to get a good result for the second leg.”

Off the pitch, Leverkusen’s media team attempted some gentle provocation, reviving Arteta’s viral 2021 “light-bulb” speech from Amazon’s All or Nothing documentary. In the clip, the manager waxed lyrical about connection and electricity while clutching an illuminated bulb; Leverkusen’s English-language social channel responded by posting players hiding extension cords and taping over light switches.

Whether the jab reaches the Arsenal dressing-room remains to be seen, yet Arteta has previously weaponised social-media barbs — most notably a tweet from Ivan Toney — to inspire his squad. Another motivational clip could yet light up preparations for the last-16 first leg.

Arsenal’s mission is clear: extend the flawless group-stage form into the knockouts, or risk seeing their burgeoning reputation dim at the BayArena.

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