A lacklustre afternoon of football ended in acrimony as arguably the Premier League's most troubled sides played out a stalemate at St James's Park. With the buildup to the match mainly based around the personnel issues for both teams; money in the bank to spend but a seeming reluctance to enter the transfer market, neither club could be called a happy ship as they opened their Premier League account.

1st Half

The game opened at a typical English pace, and also typical English quality, with haphazard passing preventing any clear chances. The two new players to these shores, Gervinho & Yohan Cabaye could have been excused for finding it difficult to adapt. But while Cabaye struggled with many of his passes going awry, Gervinho made a stronger impression that his former Lille teammate, often making life difficult for Ryan Taylor & Danny Simpson. However, while Arsenal monopolised the possession, their final ball was dreadful. They'd find an easy path to the penalty area, only to fall short when playing the killer pass. The only exception being a gorgeous through-ball from Andrey Arshavin which played Robin Van Persie clear - which was wasted by the Arsenal captain.

2nd Half

As expected, Newcastle came out with a less deferential attitude, making it harder for Arsenal to play their way into promising positions. The Gunners hardly helped themselves by playing at a snail's pace, often looking like they were still in pre-season. As the game looked to be drifting to a drab draw, the atmosphere grew increasingly rancourous, both on the pitch and in the stands.

The temperature began to rise when Alex Song petulantly stamped on Joey Barton, after a fair tackle from the midfielder. The officials looked to have missed the stamp, and Barton made a point of making the 4th official know of his disgust. As we approached the closing stages of the match, Gervinho dribbled into the penalty area, and went to ground. He failed to get the penalty, which made initial sense as the Ivorian looked to have dived (television replays looked to exonerate Gervinho). For reasons escaping sanity, Barton grabbed him, igniting a melee involving most of the 22 players on the pitch. 22 players soon became 21 as referee Peter Walton - who had an excellent match up to then - sent Gervinho off to cap a miserable debut.

That will be the story of the match, but it has overshadowed what was a worrying performance from Arsenal. Their lack of potency in the final third belied the talent - if not the character - of the Arsenal players. The soporific tempo of the passing made it easy for Newcastle to keep them at arm's length. And on the rare occasions that Arsenal did work an opening, they looked to have left their killer instinct back in North London.

Conclusion

Added to this, Gervinho is set to miss the next three domestic matches, and don't be surprised to see Alex Song join him if the FA take a second look at his stamp on Barton. The red card shows badly on all involved. While he may have been clipped, Gervinho was clearly looking for the penalty. Barton's behaviour was also despicable (Jack Wilshere tweeted that Abou Diaby was dismissed for identical conduct in last season's corresponding fixture). And while Gervinho should have known better than to raise his hands, Barton's eagerness to get the Ivorian sent-off was emetic - as was Steven Taylor's role in telling the referee that Gervinho raised his elbow, which was clearly seen to be a lie. On ESPN Chris Waddle (who spends most of his career spouting drivel) shrewdly commented that people are keen to lambast foreign players when they behave like Barton & Taylor, but are quick to say nothing when the same thing is done by an Englishman.

The only positive to come from the game was how comfortable Arsenal looked in defence. Often the club's weakness, they looked secure throughout. While there will be tougher challenges to come, they held firm when Newcastle went for the win in the closing minutes.

But those who were downbeat about Arsenal's chances this season saw nothing to alleviate those fears. There were periodic chants towards Arsene Wenger of, "Spend some f****** money!", from the away fans. If Arsenal serve up a repeat of this over the next four matches, then expect them to be playing catch-up in the title race, and to be out of the Champions League

ARSENAL (4-3-3)

Szczesny - 7, Sagna - 7, Koscielny - 7, Vermaelen - 7, Gibbs - 7, Song - 6, Ramsey - 5 (Djourou - 90th min), Rosicky - 6 (Frimpong - 85th min), Gervinho - 5, Van Persie - 5, Arshavin - 6 (Walcott - 4)

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