"They are two of the best teams in Europe, they play at the same level. That's great. We want to play against the best. We're looking forward to this big challenge. Four games in one month against Bayern? With Arsenal, there might be a bit of variety."
"It would be great if we were drawn against Arsenal. Then we could finally say goodbye to Kai Havertz at our stadium - almost six years after his departure. I was recently in contact with Kai. He would also be happy to see us again."
Bayer Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes has expressed a preference for facing Arsenal in the Champions League round of 16 rather than Bayern Munich. Despite Arsenal's impressive form—winning all eight league phase matches while conceding only four goals—Rolfes views them as the more desirable opponent. His reasoning centers on two factors: first, playing Arsenal would provide variety compared to facing Bayern, a Bundesliga rival, multiple times in one month; second, it would allow Leverkusen to bid farewell to Kai Havertz at their stadium nearly six years after his departure. Rolfes indicated that Havertz himself would welcome the reunion.
Read at Arsenal Insider
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