Strikes from Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice propelled Arsenal to a 2-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen as the English Premier League leaders earned their spot in the quarter-finals of this season’s Champions League.
Arsenal will face Sporting in the last eight after the Portuguese team staged a stunning comeback from 3-0 deficit before kick-off to fire five goals past Bodo/Glimt.
Arsenal entered this fixture on aggregate with the Germans, after Kai Havertz’s last-gasp penalty last week earned a 1-1 draw, and they did not let Leverkusen settle in the first half at Emirates.
Arsenal twice went close through Gabriel from trademark corners with Leverkusen goalkeeper Janis Blaswich making fantastic saves to keep the match scoreless.
But there was nothing Blaswich could do about the first goal ,when Eze controlled the ball on the edge of the area and swivelled before powering the ball high into the net for his first goal in the Champions League.
Arsenal picked up from where they left off in the second half and Rice wrapped up the tie when he ran onto a Leverkusen clearance and calmly placed the ball into the bottom corner.
With the match won, Mikel Arteta was able to give some of his key players a rest before Arsenal battle Manchester City in the Carabao Cup Final at Wembley on Sunday.
