Arsenal 0 Liverpool 0: Gunners draw another blank at home and fall five points off Premier League pacesetters

Chalked off: Aaron Ramsey's strike was harshly ruled out for offside
James Olley24 August 2015

Arsenal fell further behind early Premier League pacesetters Manchester City after playing out an entertaining 0-0 draw with Liverpool at Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners are still searching for their first home win of the campaign - having lost 2-0 to West Ham on the opening day - and could easily have suffered a similar fate here had the visitors taken any of several excellent first-half chances.

They were indebted to £10million summer signing Petr Cech, who made up for a poor League debut against the Hammers with a string of fine saves as Liverpool twice struck the woodwork in the opening 45 minutes.

In a game characterised by some chaotic defending yet fine goalkeeping, Arsenal rallied after the interval and hit the post through Alexis Sanchez but were left to rue two dropped points, leaving them five behind City while Liverpool’s 100 per cent start to the season also came to an end.

Both sides made changes from their previous outing but Arsenal looked destabilised by losing Per Mertesacker to illness and Laurent Koscielny to a back injury.

Calum Chambers and Gabriel deputised at the heart of the Gunners’ defence but they struggled to contain a Liverpool side boasting a first start for £29million summer signing Roberto Firmino with Emre Can and Lucas Leiva in central midfield, replacing injured duo Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana.

Liverpool hit the bar with three minutes on the clock. Christian Benteke bent his run to stay onside and found a square pass to Philippe Coutinho, who struck a clever, curling effort which cannoned back off the crossbar.

Arsenal responded in an open start through Nacho Monreal, who foraged down the left flank before delivering a cross that Sanchez headed over the bar after mistiming his jump once bursting in front of Joe Gomez.

The home side should have taken the lead in the eight minute when Santi Cazorla freed Aaron Ramsey in the inside left channel and he converted smartly at Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet’s near post only to be flagged offside. However, replays showed Ramsey was clearly played onside by defender Martin Skrtel.

Arsenal’s defending gradually unravelled from this point on. Chambers gifted the ball straight to Coutinho on the edge of the box only for Francis Coquelin to rob the Brazilian with a brilliant lunging tackle. The ball broke to Cazorla but instead of clearing the danger, he lost out to James Milner, whose shot was deflected behind for a corner.

Milner was denied by Cech midway through the first half as Arsenal continued to undermine their performance with errant passing.

Chambers lost the ball to Coutinho, who fed Gomez and Benteke looked for all the world as though he would convert the full-back’s dangerous cross from six yards out but Cech made a superb one-handed save to deny him.

From the resulting corner, Firmino tested Cech again and the 33-year-old made another marvellous save just before the interval, tipping Coutinho’s curling effort onto the post.

The game became much scrappier after the interval but Arsenal could have taken the lead on the hour mark. Cazorla fed Olivier Giroud in the box and the Frenchman’s brilliant layoff found the onrushing Sanchez, who slashed across the ball with his left foot from close range and struck halfway up Mignolet’s right-hand post.

Giroud might then have broken the deadlock himself after collecting Ramsey’s pass and hooking a left foot shot at goal from 12 yards that Mignolet did well to claw away.

Ramsey then curled a fine effort from the edge of the box which Mignolet caught at full stretch and although Arsenal had by now reduced Liverpool to sporadic counter-attacks, manager Arsene Wenger introduced Theo Walcott for Giroud with 17 minutes to give the Gunners a different attacking threat.

Liverpool retained a threat, though, and Cech was required to beat out Coutinho’s tinging effort inside the final ten minutes.

Ramsey’s deflected shot had Mignolet scrambling before Skrtle turned substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s dangerous cross desperately close to his own goal.

Mignolet thwarted Oxlade-Chamberlain from distance in stoppage-time and ultimately Arsenal could not find a way through.

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