'Among the top favourites' - Bayer Leverkusen chief drops huge Arsenal verdict ahead of Champions League knockout clash

Bayer Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes has claimed that the Gunners are among the "top favourites" to win the competition after the two sides were paired together in the last-16 of the competition. 

He said: "I was delighted with the draw. From a sporting perspective, both are obviously top opponents, but firstly, we’re facing two of our former players in Kai Havertz and Piero Hincapie, and secondly, we’re playing internationally. That’s what you compete for in the Champions League.

"They [Arsenal] have an extremely good squad with a lot of physical but also technical quality, pace very well-coordinated and organised.

"They’ve actually developed their style of play a little better every season over the last few years, which is why they’re among the top favourite in the Champions League but also the Premier League.

"They’re a top opponent but it’s also fun to compete against such players."

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has revealed his own excitement at taking on the Bundesliga opponents as Arsenal aim to win the Champions League for the very first time.

He told the club's website: “Well, we are very excited to play the next round. We have earned the right to be in a strong position, what we’ve done in the group stage and that’s it. Now we need to start to analyse them and find ways to be better than them to try and go through the tie.

 “We are really excited. Fighting on four fronts and the way the team is consistently performing gives us a lot of hope and positive thoughts about what is coming. But we can only focus on the present. That's where we're going to put our energy and that's on Sunday.

“I focus a lot on what we have to do to continue in the manner and the trajectory that we are as a team, and from there, obviously try to improve.”

Gunners star Kai Havertz is set to return to Leverkusen after playing for the Bundesliga club between 2016 and 2020, ahead of his move to Chelsea.

Rolfes added: "Yes, we are in contact sometimes, I’ve already texted him so I’m sure he’ll need a lot of tickets as he comes from here, so there will certainly be contact.

"And then it’s also nice when he went to Chelsea during Covid, it was a big farewell for us, the whole transfer was the basis for the next few years and he really left something here.

"Because of Covid there was never the environment, the opportunity to say goodbye to him, even if we saw each other afterwards. But now I think it’s a very special setting for him to come back to the BayArena and for Piero [Hincapie] too, of course. He’s still officially our player and is only on loan at the moment but it will come to the transfer and I think for Piero it’s just as special too."

The first legs of last-16 encounters will take place on March 10 and 11. Return dates will be played a week later on March 17 and 18. Seeded teams will play the second legs of their respective matches on home soil.