Why is Bayer Leverkusen vs Arsenal an early kick-off? talkSPORT commentary for Champions League clash

Mar 11, 2026 - 15:15

Arsenal continue their quadruple hunt in today’s early kick-off as they begin their Champions League knockout stage campaign at Bayer Leverkusen.

The Gunners topped the league phase table with a 100 per cent record to sail through automatically to the competition’s last 16.

Arsenal rounded off a perfect league phase campaign with a 3-2 victory over Kairat[/caption]

Currently boasting a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League, Mikel Arteta‘s side are also into the Carabao Cup final and recently progress to the FA Cup quarter-finals.

They have been just as dominant in Europe, having been the only side to win all eight of their games in the league phase.

With hosts Leverkusen advancing through a play-off round to set-up the upcoming clash, this makes Arsenal huge favourites.

The Gunners last played a Champions League match in January, while the German side overcame Olympiacos at the end of last month.

And after climbing to sixth in the Bundesliga following a tough start to the season, Leverkusen will now face their biggest test yet in Europe as they take on the Premier League’s No.1 team.

Why is Bayer Leverkusen vs Arsenal kicking off at 5:45pm?

This Champions League last 16 first leg clash will take place on this evening – Wednesday, March 11 – at BayArena in Leverkusen.

But rather than the usual 8pm kick-off, Arsenal and Leverkusen will meet at the earlier time of 5:45pm.

There is no official reason for the earlier start, but TV scheduling is behind the changed kick-off time.

UEFA introduced the 5:45pm kick-off slot for its club competitions in 2021 with the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League all using the time.

This means that while the majority of matches start at 8pm, there will be a select few chosen to kick off just over two hours earlier.

Staggering kick-off times allows television viewers to watch more games and means fewer overlaps for broadcasters.

In turn, this also increases revenue for clubs and broadcasters, as well as making games more timezone-friendly for global audiences.

Bayer Leverkusen celebrate beating Olympiacos in the Champions League knockout phase play-offs — Bayer Leverkusen set up a last 16 clash with Arsenal by overcoming Olympiacos 2-0 on aggregate

Bayer Leverkusen vs Arsenal: Team news

Arteta is still waiting to see if William Saliba will recover in time for the European clash, having missed Arsenal’s last two games against Brighton and Mansfield through an ankle injury.

Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori could also join the potential absentees after both were forced off in the FA Cup win over Mansfield.

Arteta cited ‘niggles’ as the reason for their withdrawal, but did not offer a timeframe for their return.

Elsewhere, captain Martin Odegaard remains out until April with a knee injury, while Ben White is still recovering from a knock.

Mikel Merino completes the injury list after undergoing surgery on a foot injury in February.

As for Leverksuen, a defensive injury crisis means Arthur, Loic Bade and Lucas Vazquez are all sidelined for the European tie.

Also among the German side’s absentees are goalkeeper Mark Flekken, who suffered a knee injury in February.

Patrick Schick is a doubt with a muscle injury, while other attacking players Nathan Tella and Eliesse Ben Seghir remain long-term absentees.

William Saliba of Arsenal — Arsenal conceded just four goals in the Champions League league phase, with William Saliba playing in five of these games

Bayer Leverkusen vs Arsenal: What has been said?

Following Arsenal’s 2-1 FA Cup victory over Mansfield on Saturday, Arteta bit back at negative opinions over his side’s style of play.

The Gunners have been criticised for an over reliance on set piece goals, but after both goals at Mansfield came through open play, Arteta had his say.

Speaking to talkSPORT, he said: “I think we have more goals than anybody else, I think it’s over 100 goals.

“It’s fine, we’re focusing on what we have to do, and I think we’re doing alright.”

Arsenal are in their best goalscoring season for 73 years, and Arteta added: “The numbers are evidence, the attacking inputs that we have are extraordinary.

“I mean, you talk about 70 years in the history of football and the context of the league, and the competitions that we are playing for.

“Not only that, the amount of players, I think it’s 19 players now who have scored goals, which is unprecedented, I think.

“That shows the quality and the desire of the boys to contribute to everything that we do.”