A delightful pass from new signing Santi Cazorla to fellow fresh recruit Olivier Giroud saw the Frenchman clear on goal with the just the target to hit. If only the ball had gone in, instead of five yards wide, Arsene Wenger would have had a big smile and all the people criticizing the sale of Robin Van Persie to Manchester United, would have had to keep their knives hidden.
But it was not to be, as the Gunners played out a 0-0 draw against a stubborn Sunderland side in their opening English Premier League of the season. Liverpool, under new manager Brendan Rodgers, suffered a poor 3-0 loss to West Bromwich Albion, with the home side putting in an encouraging performance, as the Reds were left to scratch their heads.
In other matches, there were goals galore as Swansea, under the guidance of new manager Michael Laudrup, smashed five past Queens Park Rangers with Clint Dempsey-less Fulham also netting 5 goals against Norwich City. Reading and Stoke drew 1-1 while West Ham made their return to the Premier League with a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa.
Back to the game at the Emirates, where Barcelona-bound Alex Song was left out of the starting line-up, the Gunners faced what they can expect to face pretty much all season, a compact back-four and a team filled with five midfielders, all trying to squeeze the life out of the game.
Cazorla was a bright spot for the Gunners, popping up every now and then with shots from outside the box, as well as vision to play in players with through balls. Lukas Podolski, who started upfront through the middle, had a frustrating afternoon and was subbed for Giroud just after the hour mark.
Wenger will take the positives, no doubt, from the match, but the Frenchman will know there is a lot of work to be done, before they can call themselves serious title contenders to the two Manchester clubs.
United play Everton on Monday while Manchester City take on Southampton on Sunday, with the other title contenders Chelsea playing the same day against Wigan.
Results: Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland; Fulham 5-0 Norwich; QPR 0-5 Swansea; Reading 1-1 Stoke; West Brom 3-0 Liverpool; West Ham 1-0 Aston Villa.
