London, August 25

Arsenal and Liverpool had to settle for a point each after a richly entertaining game of two halves beneath the Emirates Stadium drizzle implausibly finished 0-0 on Monday.

With Arsenal centre-backs Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny absent -- the former ill, the latter laid low by a back problem -- Liverpool dominated the first half, hitting the woodwork twice and seeing Petr Cech produce an astonishing save to deny Christian Benteke, although Aaron Ramsey also had a goal contentiously ruled out for Arsenal.

The hosts took control in the second half, Alexis Sanchez striking the post, but Liverpool held firm for a result that left them two points below leaders Manchester City -- the only team in the Premier League to have won their first three games -- and three points above Arsenal.

“I thought we were outstanding. We showed everything. You heard Petr Cech getting a round of applause for the saves he made,” Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said. “Overall we kept a good clean sheet, but we’re disappointed we didn’t win.”

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was relieved to avoid defeat. “Liverpool had some chances in the first half and nothing in the second,” Wenger said. “We had chances in both halves and were unlucky because we scored a regular goal that was ruled out and that was very difficult to understand. We know we can score goals, but we need to do better in the final third.”

The evening’s first bombshell landed when Arsenal’s starting line-up was announced, revealing that Mertesacker and Koscielny would both miss a league game for the first time since a 2-1 loss at home to Wigan Athletic in April 2012. Their deputies, Calum Chambers and Gabriel, had never previously played together at centre-back and Liverpool lost little time attacking them. Inside the first three minutes, Benteke shot wide from Emre Can’s pass and then teed up Philippe Coutinho for a shot that thudded against the crossbar. But Liverpool exhibited defensive frailties of their own and after Sanchez had headed over, Ramsey scored from a sensational Santi Cazorla pass, only to be denied by an offside flag.

It was then Cech’s turn to dig his team out, the Czech goalkeeper pulling off an extraordinary stop to prevent Benteke from poking in Roberto Firmino’s low cross at point-blank range and then brilliantly tipping a shot from Coutinho onto the post after the Brazilian had embarrassed Hector Bellerin. Arsenal belatedly settled in the second half, occupying the full width of the pitch when in possession and making deeper inroads in the Liverpool third.