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August is upon us and so are the opening day fixtures of the English Premier League. Let's take a look back at Arsenal's fortunes in their opening day match over the last decade.
2007
Arsenal 2 : Fulham 1
The visitors had gone up in the 1st minute after Lehmann made a huge error in clearing Gael Clichy's back pass and David Healy had tapped in.
The Gunners came back from a Robin van Persie penalty in the 83rd minute and a 90th minute winner from Aleksandr Hleb. Nerves used to be frayed back then as well.
2008
Arsenal 1 : West Bromwich Albion 0
Samir Nasri's 4th minute goal against the Baggies proved enough to decide the tie. This was also a goal scored on his debut after Wenger brought him in from Marseille for £11m.
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2009
Everton 1 : Arsenal 6
2009 marked a happy visit to Goodison Park for Arsenal as it ended in a 1-6 rout for the Gunners. The goals came from Denilson, Vermaelen, William Gallas, Fabregas (x2) and Eduardo while Louis Saha claimed a late consolation for the home team.
Everton manager Moyes was quoted as saying, "You deal with it and you move on. So we'll look it at it and try to do better next time."
2010
Liverpool 1 : Arsenal 1
David N'Gog scored for Liverpool just after the second half started and it looked like it would end that way. But Pepe Reina managed to come up with an own goal to give Arsenal an equalizer and avoid defeat in the last minute of regular time.
2011
Newcastle United 0 : Arsenal 0
A goalless draw at the Magpies was not one without incident. Gervinho got sent off on debut after slapping Joey Barton who had earlier been stamped on by Alex Song.
Alan Pardew was understandably livid but Arsene Wenger played down the incidents with his usual trick of looking perplexed.
2012
Arsenal 0 : Sunderland 0
Arsenal got an opening day home game after 4 long years but couldn't make the most of it as Sunderland held on quite resolutely.
Robin van Persie's replacement Giroud missed from 12 yards out. Lukas Podolski missed as well while Abou Diaby had a shot saved by Mignolet.
2013
Arsenal 1 : Aston Villa 3
Olivier Giroud scored in the 6th minute but Christian Benteke scored in the 22nd minute to level it for Aston Villa.
Another one from Benteke in the second half and a third from Antonio Luna sealed an emphatic comeback win for Lambert's Villa at Arsenal's home ground.
2014
Arsenal 2 - Crystal Palace 1
Crystal Palace acquired the services of Norwegian defender Brede Hangeland from Fulham on a free transfer and he immediately responded with a goal at the Emirates.
Koscielny pulled one back in extra time of the first half and Ramsey scored the winner in the extra time of the second half to pull off a sensational win for the Gunners.
2015
Arsenal 0 - West Ham 2
Thus started a trophyless season after having won 2 FA cups back to back - a two goal reverse at the hands of West Ham at home. But this had been coming, with no intent shown in the transfer market (only Cech was signed that summer).
Goals from Kouyate in the first and Zarate in the second half doomed Arsenal to a bitter loss but this was a game that would be remembered for the mistakes of Cech in goal.
2016
Arsenal 3 : Liverpool 4
Theo Walcott opened the scoring assisted by Alex Iwobi but Liverpool equalized with their midfield maestro Coutinho in extra time of the first half to swing the momentum the other way.
Liverpool scored three more in 18 minutes via Lallana, Coutinho and Mane to leave Arsenal gasping for breath. Goals from Oxlade-Chamberlain and Chambers spared Arsenal the blushes but it wasn't enough - the damage was done.
2017
Arsenal 4 : Leicester City 3
A match played under lights on a Friday saw new signing Alexandre Lacazette score in the second minute to set up a thrilling end to end game.
Okazaki and Vardy scored next for the Foxes to set up a 2-1 lead only for Welshman Ramsey to peg back an equalizer just before the half ended.
Leicester took the lead in the second half via Jamie Vardy's second of the match but Aaron Ramsey scored another equalizer. Super-sub and current World Cup Winner Olivier Giroud then came off the bench to get the winner.
2018
Arsenal ? : Manchester City ?
For the first time in a long time, Arsenal are up against the reigning champions for their opening day fixture.
Statistics for opening day fixtures for Arsenal since 2007
Arsenal P11 W5 L3 D3 GF20 GA16
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New manager Unai Emery is still short on a squad that has quality down to the substitutes' bench. Can he scoop out something special or will he be taken to the cleaners by Pep's free flowing football? Comment what you think will be the scoreline.
