The game was Arsenal's first in front of a sold-out Emirates Stadium since last season, following their tour of the United States last month.
Two quick-fire goals from Oleksandr Zinchenko and Leandro Trossard within the opening 10 minutes gave the Gunners a healthy lead - which they added to before half-time thanks to Gabriel Jesus.
Changes at half-time set a slower pace for the second half, but it was not long before Kai Havertz tapped in from close range to make it 4-0.
A late goal from Adam Hlozek proved to be nothing but a consolation as Arsenal's dominant showing earned them a resounding 4-1 victory over the Bundesliga champions.
Speaking after the game, Arteta spoke about the match itself, as well as various topics around the club at the moment.
Injury concerns
Among the talking points before the game was the omission of defensive duo Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori from the squad.
Timber suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury last season, and his absence caused some panic among supporters - while there was disappointment and confusion over Calafiori's absence.
Arteta was quick to ease fears of any serious issue for either player, though, saying:
"Well, with Jurrien, he had a little discomfort in his feet in the last few days and, obviously, [you need to] understand that he's been out [injured], we didn't want to take any risk with him.
"In regards to Riccardo, again, so much happened to him in one week. He's coming in a new environment, different completely methodology, different training, and we are managing [his integration]. And we want to do it slowly to get [him] in the best possible way. So, hopefully, on Sunday, he will be available to play some minutes."
The Bayer Leverkusen game
On the night, it was an emphatic win for the Gunners, and Arteta was quizzed on whether he is happy with where the squad are at this stage of pre-season.
He said: "Yeah. For sure, we can take a lot of positives from the game, apart from the result - the way we performed, [the performance had] a lot of very positive aspects - collectively and individually as well.
"And, yeah, we take a lot from it, a lot of things to learn as well. I think that we can improve, especially in the second half and when we made certain changes as well. But, again, [it was] a really good test, [against] a really good team, [who are] really well coached, and it was a good performance."
Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice
The England duo only returned to first-team training at the start of this week after their extended holidays following Euro 2024, but both featured against Bayer Leverkusen.
When asked if he was worried about rushing the pair back too soon, Arteta insisted that, with the start of the season so close, they need to be ready:
"Well, the season starts in 10 days, so they have to be ready, and these are the demands that they have right now. So we really look after them every day that they are with us. When we have the ability to give them days off, we do. We give them days off as well before they started the Euros.
"We have given them the rest that they needed, and the best thing to do is when you look on their faces and there is that spark in their eyes, to come back and say, 'I don't want to miss it because I know how hard it's gonna be to get back'. That's the best sign the players want it [to play]."
The club's academy stars
This pre-season has seen numerous Hale End academy stars given plenty of minutes as they sought to impress ahead of the new campaign.
Among the most impressive young stars were Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly who, for most Arsenal fans, will need no introduction.
When asked about the role that the duo could play in the upcoming season, and whether they will be given regular minutes, Arteta said:
"If they continue like they are doing right now, I'm not going to have any difference [in approach] whether they come from the academy or we sign in from Argentina, or Germany, or Italy.
"They are showing the quality that they have, especially they're showing the personality that they have to play at this level, and let's see. Why are we going to put any restrictions [on their game time]. [It is] the opposite, they deserve minutes, they will gain minutes."
The Spaniard was also asked about his conversation with Lewis-Skelly which was seen after the match, and said:
"It was about about a few actions that he did really well. I know this. He needs to understand a bit better, especially the focus and attention that these games demand, you know, and he really wants it [to play for the first team]."
Gabriel Jesus combining with Kai Havertz
While last season often saw the duo play in place of one another, Jesus and Havertz linked up with each other exceptionally well against Bayer Leverkusen.
When asked if fans can expect to see them play alongside each other more often in the upcoming campaign, Arteta said:
"I think it's something that you can see coming [Havertz's runs]. It's natural. It flows. There's good chemistry between them as well with Leo [Trossard].
"I think because they're three [attacking players], they have that false nine profile, and I really like what I saw today, yeah."
Eddie Nketiah
Eddie Nketiah has been the subject of transfer interest from Olympique Marseille in recent weeks, but Arteta remained tight-lipped when asked about his future:
"Again, we cannot talk about things like that [transfer speculation]. He played some minutes today again. He's a player that gives us so much and we really like him. And at the moment, there is nothing to discuss."
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