Arsenal lined up with no surprises, but it was second half substitute Gilberto (apparently he wants to be known by the single name, Brasilian style) who broke the deadlock with a goal in his debut.

Dennis Bergkamp broke the offside trap just outside the box and took the ball to the goal-line on the left before cutting it back. Gilberto was in space just inside the box and hit a sweet left-foot shot which was close to the keeper but beat him for pace.

The Brasilian had come on for his compatriot Edu at half time. He may well have been going to come on anyway, but there are suggestions that Edu may have been experiencing hamstring trouble.

Arsenal narrowly deserved the win, but escaped a decent penalty shout when Vieira brought down new Liverpool striker Diouf. The ref might have been more sympathetic to the Senegalese player if he'd made less of a meal of it. If that continues, then judging by Diouf's World Cup Liverpool could be missing out on a few pens this year.

As well as Gilberto, it was interesting to see Kolo Toure come onto the left wing towards the end. New signing Pascal Cygan didn't feature at all, and if Keown's form continues he could find himself on the sidelines for a while. Perhaps Wenger couldn't choose between bringing on new boy Cygan or Matty Upson (returning from injury).

Arsenal:

Seaman;
Lauren Keown Campbell Cole;
Parlour Vieira Edu (Gilberto) Wiltord;
Henry Bergkamp (Toure)