The opening day of the new season for Arsenal has not been too kind to them in the last few years, having not won a match in the first weekend of the Premier League season for four years, and they've won just half of the 22 games across the Premier League era. Here, we take a look at the three best and three worst starts for the Gunners.
Best three opening fixtures
3. Arsenal 2-0 Newcastle (August 14th 2005)
Arsenal's 2-0 victory over the Magpies was a fitting start to the final season of football to be played at Highbury, as Arsenal relocated a few hundreds yards away to the Emirates less than a year later. Thierry Henry slotted home a late penalty and Robin van Persie tapped home from close range minutes later. Henry celebrated the birth of his daughter Téa when he scored his goal, holding his fingers to his mouth in a 'T' position. The game also saw Jermaine Jenas, now of QPR, controversially sent off after a tackle on Gilberto Silva. The game began a topsy-turvy season for the Gunners, who eventually piped North London rivals Tottenham to fourth place.
2. Middlesbrough 0-4 Arsenal (August 18th 2001)
Thierry Henry started off an Arsenal rout at the Riverside in their title-winning season back in 2001. Despite Ray Parlour's sending off just after half-time, Dennis Bergkamp sealed a 4-0 win with two late goals. A Robert Pires penalty and a red card for Middlesbrough defender Ugo Ehigou were sandwiched in-between the other three goals. It was a win which saw Arsenal complete their away fixtures unbeaten across the league season, with their victory at Old Trafford sealing the second Premier League title for Arsenal.
1. Everton 1-6 Arsenal (August 15th 2009)
It turned out to be a glorious day on Merseyside when Arsenal recorded their biggest opening day victory, thumping David Moyes' Everton 6-1 at Goodison Park. In his debut game for the Gunners, current club captain Thomas Vermaelen was among the goalscorers, heading the second goal past a hapless Tim Howard. Only one Arsenal striker made it onto the scoresheet, with Eduardo scoring the sixth, before Louis Saha scored a mere consolation in injury time. This victory was the last time Arsenal tasted success on the opening day, drawing three (Liverpool away, Newcastle away, Sunderland home) and losing one (Aston Villa home) since.
Worst three opening fixtures
3. Arsenal 2-4 Norwich City (August 15th 1992)
The very first day in the history of the Premier League was one to forget for Arsenal. Despite taking a 2-0 lead in the game with goals from Kevin Campbell and Steve Bould, Arsenal slumped to a 4-2 defeat after two late goals from Ruel Fox and Mark Robins. The Arsenal side, which contained the likes of Lee Dixon, Tony Adams and David Seamen, finished in a dismal 10th place after a 42-game season that saw more defeats than victories for the Gunners.
2. Arsenal 1-3 Aston Villa (August 17th 2013)
The opening day of last season produced a result that sparked various protests and uproar within the Arsenal fanbase. Opinions were divided on the manager, cries of 'Spend some money' and loud boos rung around the Emirates. The defeat was Arsenal's first opening day defeat at home since losing 3-0 to Coventry in 1993. The result eventually prompted Wenger and Arsenal to smash their previous transfer record and sign Mesut Özil from Real Madrid. Arsenal went on an unbeaten league run for almost three months after the result, spending the majority of the season at the top of the table before eventually settling for fourth place and ending their trophy drought with a 3-2 win against Hull.
1. Arsenal 0-3 Coventry (August 14th 1993)
Arsenal's worst opening day game, their last home opening day defeat at Highbury, saw a 3-0 humiliation at the hands of Coventry City. The Sky Blues began the season as relegation favourites and were expected to be torn to shreds by an Arsenal side recovering from a distinctly below-par first Premier League season. A stunning hat-trick from Micky Quinn settled the scores, as Arsenal eventually finished fourth, with Coventry 10 places below them in 14th.
