If you turned off the Arsenal vs Bayer Leverkusen match at halftime, you missed one of those Champions League moments that makes this tournament special, folks. Kai Havertz converted a controversial 89th-minute penalty to salvage a 1-1 draw in Germany, keeping both teams very much alive in this knockout tie.

Let me set the scene. Arsenal came out of halftime looking shaky, and Leverkusen pounced immediately. Robert Andrich put the home side up 1-0 in the 46th minute, right out of the break. The timing couldn't have been worse for the Gunners - lose your focus for one moment in the Champions League, and you pay the price.

For 43 minutes, it looked like Arsenal was heading back to London with nothing but regrets. They'd hit the bar through Gabriel Martinelli in the first half. They'd had chances. But in knockout soccer, "almost" doesn't count.

Then came the 89th minute. Madueke went down in the box after contact from Tillman, and the referee pointed to the spot. Was it a penalty? That depends on who you ask, folks. The Leverkusen fans are still fuming. But the call stood, and up stepped Kai Havertz.

Now here's the beautiful poetry of it all - Havertz, the German international, returning to his home country, facing his former league, with Arsenal's Champions League hopes on his boot. And he buried it. 1-1.

The Leverkusen manager, Kasper Hjulmand, was so incensed about the penalty that he immediately went over to Arsenal's set-piece coach, Nicolas Jover, after they'd scored from a corner earlier. The mind games were on full display.

But here's what matters - Arsenal escaped with an away goal and everything still to play for. They were down, they were facing a deficit heading into the second leg, and they found a way to salvage something from the jaws of defeat.