Leverkusen head coach Kasper Hjulmand clarified a touchline conversation with Arsenal set-piece coach Nicolas Jover during their recent match, while also delivering a firm verdict on Arsenal’s equalizer penalty.

Set-Piece Tactics Under Scrutiny

In a pre-match press conference, Hjulmand highlighted Arsenal’s blocking strategies from set pieces and raised questions about their legality. Following Robert Andrich’s goal for Leverkusen, Hjulmand approached Jover on the sideline.

Hjulmand explained that Jover pointed out Leverkusen employs similar tactics. “I’m just questioning, is it actually in the rules that you can bodycheck and take players out without the ball?” Hjulmand said. “So he was just looking [and saying], ‘you do it too?’ Yeah, we are doing it too. So it is the same for all teams, we are all doing it.”

Arteta Reflects on Defensive Lapses

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta acknowledged anticipating Leverkusen’s routine but expressed frustration over his team’s response. “There’s always two sides to that,” Arteta stated. “One is the element of the opponent that they picked that weakness, and that lack of attention or urgency in both situations. The other one is us, because we knew, we showed them three clips from last weekend in three different ways, and we weren’t ready for it, and we got caught.”

Hjulmand Disputes Penalty Decision

Hjulmand voiced strong dissatisfaction with the penalty awarded to Arsenal for their equalizer. Replays showed minimal contact, with one angle suggesting Tillman landed on Madueke’s foot. “There’s no contact and then he goes down,” Hjulmand insisted. “It’s not a penalty. That’s a situation where if the referee doesn’t blow his whistle and VAR checks it, then there’s no penalty.”