Published: 24 August, 2015

By RICHARD OSLEY at EMIRATES STADIUM

FA Premier League
Arsenal 0, Liverpool 0

THE question after a second home match without a goal was obvious: Are Arsenal going to buy a new striker before the transfer deadline closes next weel? Linked all summer with Real Madrid’s lethal forward Karim Benzema and Paris St Germain’s highly-regarded Edison Cavani, Arsenal are instead fielding Olivier Giroud up front.

He may be the only man to score a goal for the club in the first three matches of the season but when the chances came against a rival team here tonight (Monday) the hot-and-cold Frenchman’s way was frustrating. He was outmuscled in his air, his supposed strength, and unpredictable on the ground, stumbling when suddenly in space in front of goal and handed a gilt-edged chance.

Giroud is lost in the Liverpool defence

Giroud is a good player, but these are the type of home matches which Arsene Wenger’s team need to convert into three point performances if they are to genuinely mount a championship challenge, and just good may not be enough. I

n fact, they may find themselves fighting their guests at the Emirates for a fourth place Champions League spot by the end of the season, if they do not get into gear quickly. Liverpool could actually have gone away with the win themselves in a classic game of two halves. They bossed the first period and hit the post twice through the exciting Phillipe Coutinho.

Petr Cech saved brilliantly at the feet of Christian Benteke. Arsenal, who had an Aaron Ramsey goal chalked off for a razor tight offside decision early on, finally got motoring in the second half but Ramsey, Santi Cazorla and Alexis Sanchez’s interchanges of passes did not create enough sights of goal and attacks broke down with long-shots and a series of wasted corners.

It's a night of frustration for Alexis Sanchez

Liverpool, for their part, looked well organised, defending in numbers and breaking with pace, but Arsenal played into their hands to some extent, Mesut Ozil switched between sleepy and enthused throughout the match in his mercurial way, while sub Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain again looked like he needed to cut down on television ad work and knuckle down to what made him such an exciting prospect when he arrived at Arsenal.

Wenger railed against the disallowed goal afterwards, insisting that the ref had "got it wrong". The television replays appear to support that view. But the manager also conceded that not winning had also been because his team were "not fluid enough in the final third". Reporters suggested his players had a 'mental block' about scoring at home following the 2-0 defeat here to West Ham two weeks ago, to which Wenger replied: "It's a fact I agree, but I believe we know we can score goals and come back."

The bench looked quite threadbare all of a sudden, however, with only Theo Walcott looking like a forward game-changer. There is Danny Welbeck to come back but he alone will not be enough to convince the home fans still waiting to see Arsenal hit the back of the net this season.

"It's been an average start to the season I must admit," Wenger said.

Attendance: 60,080

ARSENAL: Cech, Bellerin, Monreal, Gabriel, Chambers, Coquelin (Oxlade-Chamberlain 82), Cazorla (capt), Ramsey, Ozil, Sanchez, Giroud (Walcott 73)
SUBS: Debuchy, Ospina, Flamini, Gibbs, Arteta