From the outside, Arsenal's one-nil victory against the Swans would be seen as a good performance from a newly promoted side against a top four team, however from the inside it was an opportunity for lost for the Swans.
Previous to kick off news broke out about the unfortunate passing of Brendan Rodgers' father Malachy. Understandably Brendan made the trip back home to be with his family, which prompted the ever dependable duo Curtis and Pascoe to take the reigns at the Emirates.
Back to the game and the fixture was being dubbed as Arsenal's new start to the season after the departures and disappointments that August brought. New arrivals Per Mertesacker and Mikel Arteta were part of the starting eleven which was looking a lot closer to full strength than the eleven that were drubbed by United. However, the performance was hardly enough to rejuvenate the fans hopes for the season.
Despite having good possession and moving the ball around the pitch well, the Gunners failed to be clinical enough with their chances, with a mistake from an unlikely source resulting in their only goal.
After a series of performances which lead to Michel Vorm being awarded with the club's Player of the Month award, it was a shock for the travelling faithful to see the Dutchman misplace a thrown pass to allow Andrei Arshavin a clear shot at an empty goal. The pass, intended for Nathan Dyer, clattered against the heels of Angel Rangel which left Vorm in no-man's land.
Despite still not getting off the mark, Swansea weren't without their chances to get that historic first goal. Scott Sinclair once again smashed an effort, this time from a free kick, onto the crossbar in the first half whilst Danny Graham forced Wojciech Szczesny into action within the first seven minutes of the game.
But it was Graham's chance at the end of the match which was the most clear cut. After Szczesny flapped at an in-swinging corner, the resulting scramble ended with goal at Graham's mercy, but after taking the turn to shoot the ball ballooned over the crossbar. The look of bemusement on the former Championship top scorer summed up every Swans fan's feelings at that time. What will it take for our record signing to break his duck?
To lose faith in Graham at this point in the season could end up doing more harm than good. Other strikers that were signed from the Championship for the promoted sides have also failed to score any goals thus far, such as Steve Morison for Norwich and Jay Bothroyd for QPR but do they get the criticism that select groups of our fans are piling onto Graham? Danny fits our play well with his work-rate and presence to hold up play - the only thing that is missing right now is goals, and I'm sure they'll come.
Elsewhere on the pitch, the defensive pairing of Caulker and Williams continued to flourish, with Caulker providing a particularly good performance. The on loan Tottenham centre back kept the Arsenal offence at bay and provided some essential clearances.
So with another game gone with no goals and no wins, are we in a good position? Well, considering we've got two games against the top 4 out of the way already and establishing a tight defence by keeping two clean sheets thus far, it certainly could be worse. The match at West Brom must provide at least a goal for us though, that goal will ensue confidence and should bring our first win in no time.
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