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Arsenal star Eberechi Eze was replaced by Mikel Arteta with the tie against Bayer Leverkusen all but won, but sparked concerns after he gestured for a substitution. 

Eze had given the Gunners a crucial advantage with a stunning first-half goal and now could leave his manager sweating over his availability to face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final.

Eze appeared to jar something before being replaced as Arteta looked to his bench after Declan Rice extended Arsenal's lead at the Emirates. The midfield star was replaced by former Leverkusen talisman Kai Havertz.

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The goalscorer attempted to allay fears over his substitution at full-time. Speaking after the game, Eze said: "Yeah, I'm alright, I'll be okay."

The 27-year-old scored a rocket to help Arsenal on their way to the quarter finals of the Champions League, after Arsenal left the BayArena empty-handed last week, and required victory over their German opponents on Tuesday night.

Eze's goals and performancewent a long way to putting the Premier League leaders on the right track in Europe. And the strike will prove to be a memorable one for the midfielder.

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"I don't know if I could dream of scoring a goal like that," Eze said. "It's a special goal, I'm going to remember it for a long time. I'll be rewatching this one for a long time."

Ex-Arsenal and West Ham defender Matthew Upson believes the midfielder is starting to find his way in north London after his summer switch.

"Just finding the change of gear to play at a club like Arsenal takes a little bit of time to settle in," Upson said. "Eze is up and down at the moment but he's getting there. Especially a season like this, there's so much winning pressure, a slip up is around the corner at every moment."

Despite his reassuring words, Eze's early exit will raise some concerns, with Arteta's side looking to secure their first piece of silverware this weekend. Arsenal face title-challengers Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley.

Arsenal have not won the competition since 1993, and have lost in the final three times since then. They have faced defeat to Chelsea, Birmingham City and Manchester City.

Arteta had already looked to shuffle his pack before Eze's premature exit. The Spaniard made three substitutions in the immediate aftermath of Rice's goal in the second period.

Cristhian Mosquera, Christian Norgaard and Gabriel Martinelli entered the fray in place of Martin Zubimendi, Ben White and Leandro Trossard.

Arenal's 2-0 victory sees them move into the Champions League quarter-finals. They will face Sporting CP for a place in the final four after the Portuguese giants secured a miraculous turnaround against Bodo/Glimt, overhauling a 3-0 deficit.