Arsenal vs. Bayer Leverkusen: Head-to-head record and past meetings

Head-to-head record

Previous meetings: 4

Draws: 2

Arsenal wins: 2

Bayer Leverkusen and Arsenal were not total strangers to one another before the 2025-26 Champions League campaign, the last-16 tie between Die Werkself and the Gunners marked just their third and fourth competitive meetings.

The German and English titans first crossed paths during the 2001-02 tournament, back in the days of two separate group stages, the second of which was held instead of a last-16 knockout round.

Arsenal and Leverkusen both finished second in their first group stage before being paired together for the next four-team battle, and the inaugural battle took place on German soil in February 2002.

Arsene Wenger's men drew first blood through winger Robert Pires, but after Ray Parlour was sent off for two bookable offences, Leverkusen equalised right at the death through Ulf Kirsten.

Eight days later at Highbury, Arsenal put things right, as the Gunners demolished Leverkusen 4-1 thanks to four goals from four legends - Pires, Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp.

However, Wenger's men were still eliminated from the competition owing to their third-placed finish in the second group stage, while Leverkusen topped the standings and memorably progressed all the way to the final, where the iconic Zinedine Zidane volley propelled Real Madrid to a 2-1 win.

Arsenal and Leverkusen would not lock horns again until the summer of 2024, when Mikel Arteta's men hosted Xabi Alonso's side in pre-season, shortly after Die Werkself completed a spectacular unbeaten Bundesliga season.

Leverkusen's Invincibles were no match for the Gunners, though, as Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz found the net in a 4-1 Emirates success.

The same was true in the 2025-26 Champions League, where Arsenal needed a late penalty to steal a 1-1 first-leg draw before easing to a 2-0 success in the return fixture, thanks partly to a stunning Eberechi Eze volley.