Premier League 2018-19, Arsenal 0-2 Manchester City: 3 key battles that decided the game

Arsene Wenger might have left, but there was no immediate change in Arsenal's fortunes, as the defending champions played them like a fiddle to notch up a 2-0 win in their opener at the Emirates stadium.

In a match that could have just as easily passed for the 39th match of the 2017/18 season, Manchester City shook off the mild coating of dust that had settled on their marauding run, with Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva scoring either side of half-time to put the tie to bed.

Arsenal's team selection left a lot of fans scratching their heads, with new signings Lichtsteiner, Leno and Torreira starting from the bench in favor of newer, unproven prospects and older, washed out stars. Considering all that, 0-2 was far from a fair result for the North Londoners.

As usual, there were a few key individual battles that went a long way in deciding the final outcome of the game. Here's a look at 3 of them:

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#1 Raheem Sterling and Benjamin Mendy vs Hector Bellerin

It is like the previous season never ended!

After spending last season on and off the starting XI, Hector Bellerin made a return to the team sheet, but it was not the best of nights for the Spaniard.

Facing a sly Sterling backed up by a fresh and fit Benjamin Mendy, Bellerin had his hands full throughout the game and could not do much to help his team out offensively.

After a slightly disappointing World Cup in Russia where he was forced to play out of his preferred position, it was a return to the basics for Sterling under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola once more, and he returned the favor with a goal we had seen so many teams last season - cutting in from the left and bending the ball to the right corner.

The rare moments when Sterling cooled down, Mendy came to the rescue down the left with his overlapping runs.

Defensively, the Frenchman was very shaky in the first half and almost looked like the weak link in an otherwise solid squad, but things became better in the second and Arsenal could never capitalise on it.

Mendy also got two assists to his name, and as the team gets more and more used to the style, the chances of reward will only get higher. Fantasy players, if you are reading this, take note.

#2 Playing Aaron Ramsey as a false nine vs logic

Why would anyone play Ramsey as a false 9 when there is an actual 9 on the bench?

The Welshman is listed on the team sheet as a No.10, playing behind Aubameyang but as the game progressed, it was obvious what Arsenal's game plan was.

Aubameyang shifted to the right to play as a winger, while Ramsey moved out of position to play as the central forward with Ozil dropping deep to play as the quarterback.

Brilliant, right? NO. While the idea looks clever enough on paper, it crashed and burned when it came to execution.

Ramsey has neither the physicality nor the pace of a conventional forward, and what makes him great in midfield is his wily runs behind the opposition while the forward leads the defenders away from him. See where I am going with this?

In addition to that, Aubameyang was completely wasted as the winger without a target man. Only when Emery returned to his senses and took away Ramsey for Lacazette did Arsenal start to look like a proper team, but Manchester City scored their second immediately after that, and it was too little too late.

Ramsey played incredibly well in the role that was given to him, but it completely nullifies everything else about the team.

When every one of the Arsenal players get ready to start playing, Emery has some major thinking to do - the least of which should be playing his best player on the night out of position.

#3 A 36-year-old Petr Cech vs the Petr Cech we are all used to

Is it time to call it quits?

This one is a little painful as a Chelsea fan as well, but the writing is on the wall. Well, the writing has been on the wall for quite some time now, and Arsenal have just been refusing to acknowledge that.

Now that they have acquired a new keeper, it is ridiculous that they still want to pursue that.

Petr Cech is old. At 36 years of age, he is far from his prime and the reflexes are the first thing to go as you get older.

For a keeper, that is an enormous problem. A close look at the Sterling goal will reveal that it was not, in fact, a picture-perfect pass to the bottom right corner but a very savable one - at least for a keeper with more agility.

I’ve said it before, but football can be kind to some players, they experience a gradual decline. Others see their form drop off of a cliff.There was evidence to suggest Petr Cech falls into the latter category last season, and more already today!#cech

— FromnearMoscow (@FromnearM) August 12, 2018

Not to mention the fact that Emery's teams are usually constructed from the back and he requires his keeper to play the ball instead of booting it up-field. Unfortunately, his feet have never been Cech's strong point.

Now, Cech is still an excellent shot stopper, as we got to see today with saves against Laporte and Aguero.

But under pressure from the opposition, Cech is prone to show bad judgement as was exhibited from his almost-own-goal tonight.

There is no doubt that Cech will go down as one of the greatest ever Premier League keepers, and a Chelsea legend in his own right. But the truth has to be acknowledged.

Arsenal has the resources to do that now, and they should start slowly incorporating Leno into the squad as quickly as they can.