Arsenal vs. Liverpool: A tale of 2 halves ends goalless

If there was ever a match deserving of a 0-0 scoreline, it was not this one.

A first half littered with shambolic defending by Arsenal and dynamic attacks by the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Christian Benteke was cancelled out by a second half of typically calculated impetus by the Gunners and an underwhelming Liverpool side.

An opening stanza defined by the ineptitude of centre-back Calum Chambers remained goalless if only for a handful of finger-tip saves by summer signing Petr Cech.

To say that Chambers was anything less than a disaster would be unfair. His misgivings were time and time again salvaged by the last-ditch efforts of Francis Coquelin, Gabriel, and Cech.

It's not entirely Chambers' fault that he wasn't in mid-season form - he hasn't started a Premier league match since March 2015 - as usual centre-back pairing of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker were ruled out just prior to kick-off.

After a rough first-week loss to West Ham at the Emirates where both goals were arguable goalkeeping gaffs, Cech was in fine form, most notably on an individual moment of brilliance by Coutinho in the 44th minute. The pint-sized Brazilian out-dribbled a flat-footed Hector Bellerin before curling a brilliant effort towards Cech's far post that would have gone in were it not for a last-second intervention from the Czech international shot-stopper.

Another finger-tip save on a Benteke point-blank effort ensured a halftime scoreline of 0-0.

Brendan Rodgers' side would feel short on luck having not scored in the opening half, while Arsenal must have felt fortunate to have escaped without conceding a goal, if not many.

Despite all of Liverpool's efforts on goal, the first half's most memorable moment was an Aaron Ramsey goal on a delicately incisive pass from Santi Cazorla that was wrongly ruled offside.

Coming on the heels of Liverpool's win against Bournemouth via an offside goal, the ruling to disallow Ramsey's strike was an ominous indication of just how small the margin of error is for linesman. Yet, the offside call dictated the narrative just as much as both team's ineptitude did.

The second half was a different story. Arsenal regrouped, and with Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil at the helm, attacked Liverpool's penalty area without reprieve, constantly littering the area with potent attacks.

What Cech was to the opening half, Liverpool shot-stopper Simon Mignolet was to the second.

Despite both teams' efforts, the match ended in what will likely be this season's most entertaining goalless draw.

Liverpool have yet to allow a goal in its first three matches and look to be a better, more organized outfit than last year, while Arsenal supporters are left scratching their heads wondering if their preseason title prognostications were implausibly daft.