The 27-year-old goalkeeper moved on in the summer of 2018 to Arsenal after seven years under the Bayer Cross having played 304 games for the Werkself. At the start, he battled with Petr Cech (37) for the number one spot at the Gunners and, due to a thigh injury to his Czech team-mate, Leno was between the sticks for the London team for the seventh match in the Premier League campaign. He grabbed his chance with both hands: After his debut in the 2-0 win against Watford, Leno was the number one choice for league games and Cech played in the domestic and European cup competitions. Leno watched from the stands at the Europa League final in Baku as Arsenal lost 4-1 against Chelsea.
In his first season in the "mother country of football", the Swabian-born keeper clocked up 32 Premier league appearances, three games in the Europa League and one match in the league cup (EFL Cup). Arsenal did not manage to qualify for the Champions League this season – the team coached by Unai Emery finished fifth last season on 70 points and just missed out on qualifying for Europe's premier club competition by just two points.
Benjamin Henrichs, who is currently in action alongside Jonathan Tah at the U21 European Championships in Italy and San Marino, ended his time at Bayer 04 in the summer. The 22-year-old right back was signed by AS Monaco. Henrichs, who joined Bayer 04 as a seven-year-old from SpVG Porz in 2004 and progressed through all the youth ranks at Kurtekotten, had a mixed season with the French Champions League semi-finalists of 2017 as they ended up in a relegation battle: After starting for the first time against Olympic Marseille (2-3) on matchday four and then establishing himself in the side, the second half of the season often saw him on the bench although he did go the full distance in the last two games of the season.
There was also a merry-go-round in the position of head coach. First, the long-term successful coach Leonardo Jardim was dismissed and replaced by Thierry Henri. And because the former legendary striker failed to turn a corner and rescue the team from the bottom of the table, the end came for Henry in January of this year. Jardim was reinstated shortly after that. In the end, the runners-up from the previous season finished in a disappointing 17th position and just survived being relegated.
Henrichs played 22 games in Ligue 1, four in the Champions League and three in the domestic cup competitions (27 starts with 23 going the full distance) in his first season in the homeland of the World Cup winners. "The move abroad was a huge step for me. In spite of all the ups and downs that I've experienced here, I can only say one thing: I have developed enormously both on a personal level and as a pro footballer," said Benjamin Henrichs.
In July of last year, goalkeeper Niklas Lomb went out on loan for a season to the second division club SV Sandhausen – for the new campaign, the 25-year-old shot stopper will rejoin the goalkeeping set-up at the Werkself alongside Lukas Hradecky and Ramazan Özcan. "As things stand, we have our three goalkeepers for next season," said Rolfes in April. Lomb made 12 appearances in the second division and played two games in the DFB Cup. As with Bernd Leno in London, Lomb had to battle for the number one spot. In the end he lost out to his one-year older rival Marcel Schuhen.
The captain of the U17 champions of 2016 signed for Dutch top-flight club Willem II Tilburg in the summer of 2018. At the end of the season the 20-year-old could look back at eight appearances in the Eredivisie where he scored one goal and provided two assists. Akkaynak also played 37 minutes in the Dutch Cup in two brief appearances. Willem II lost 4-0 in the cup final to the Dutch champions and Champions League semi-finalists Ajax. The former Bayer 04 player was on the bench for the 90 minutes.
As with Atakan Akkaynak, Marlon Frey also played in Holland last season. The 23-year-old defensive midfielder joined the Werkself in 2004 from Rather SV and – exactly like Benjamin Henrichs – played for all the youth teams at Bayer 04. Following a loan period at FC Kaiserslautern in 2016/17, Frey signed for the PSV Eindhoven reserve team last summer. He played 31 games and was involved in four goals (one goal, three assists). His time in Eindhoven ended in the summer. The Düsseldorf-born player decided to sign for second division SV Sandhausen.
Vladlen Yurchenko left the Werkself in the summer transfer window. The talented Ukrainian, who will long be remembered by Bayer 04 fans thanks to his wonder goal against AS. Monaco in the Champions League group stage in 2016/17, was at Leverkusen from 2014 before joining the Danish side Vejle Boldklub in September. The 25-year-old of attacking midfielder made ten appearances and provided one assist in his first season in Denmark.
The 19-year-old central striker also finished in the summer. The U17 champion of 2016 joined the TSG Hoffenheim reserves in 2018 and he played 20 games (including five for the full 90 minutes) last season in the Regional League South West. He was involved in four goals (three goals, one assist).
Jakub Bednarczyk, who was a member of the team that won the Germany U17 championship title in 2016 alongside Kai Havertz, Atakan Akkaynak and Chinedu Ekene, was the only departure in the winter transfer window. The 20-year-old right back joined second division FC St. Pauli in January and over the last six months he played for the reserve team in the Regional League (North). Before moving to Hamburg, the Poland U20 international made his professional debut against Larnaca (5-1) in the Europa League. With the reserve team at FC St Pauli he finished 14th in the table having made ten appearances (scoring one goal) with nine starts.
In January, the youth keeper Tomasz Kucz agreed to a six-month loan deal at Slovak top-flight club DAC Dunajska Streda. The former U19 keeper at Bayer 04, who was in the first team squad for the first time on the opening game of the last Bundesliga season in place of Ramazan Özcan, played one match for the Slovaks: On the final matchday of the Slovakian Fortuna League he was in goal for the runners-up to be, making his debut against SKF Sered in a 4-3 defeat.
From special edition jerseys to fan banners, the home game against Mainz 05 was all about the many Bayer 04 fan clubs. Accordingly, a fitting tribute to the long-standing Werkself supporters was not to be missed during half-time in the Bundesliga match. Fernando Carro, CEO, honoured the up to 50-year anniversaries of six fan clubs in front of the coaches' benches at the BayArena.
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There’s lots going on at the BayArena today. The home game against FSV Mainz 05 is all about the numerous Bayer 04 fan clubs, whose birth - the founding of the "1. Fanclub 1976 Leverkusen" - dates back 50 years. A number of fan club representatives will be involved in awards, a banner display and a half-time matchday chat, and the Werkself are set to play in a special white fan club jersey. During half-time, Leverkusen mayor Stefan Hebbel and javelin world champion Steffi Nerius will also talk about the Olympic bid involving Leverkusen. Black and Red fans are advised to get to the stadium in good time today. Matchday news.
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The Werkself host Premier League club Arsenal in the Round of 16 first leg in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. The match at the BayArena is on 10/11 March. Read on for information on ticket sales for this fixture.
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The draw for the Round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 was made today, Friday 27 February: Bayer 04 face Premier League leaders Arsenal. Managing director sport Simon Rolfes sees the English team as a "top opponent" and is looking forward to meeting former Werkself players Kai Havertz and Piero Hincapie again.
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After three consecutive victories, FSV Mainz 05 recently suffered setbacks against Borussia Dortmund (0-4) and Hamburger SV (1-1) in the battle to stay up. Nevertheless, the Mainz 05 performance curve has shown a clear upward trend in recent weeks. Their coach and a former Leverkusen player in particular have played a decisive role in this. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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