Why Declan Rice shouted at Arsenal teammates as Viktor Gyokeres breaks first Premier League rule

Arsenal got off to the perfect start in the Premier League as they held off a rejuvenated Manchester United side at Old Trafford. On an uncomfortable afternoon to start the season away from home, the Gunners scaped through without ever getting close to their best.

Despite a shaky start, Arsenal took the lead through Riccardo Calafiori, who nodded in at the far post after Declan Rice had almost scored directly from a corner. Altay Bayindir flapped at the delivery and was left red-faced as United's bright opening saw them behind.

In an entertaining game that was worlds away from the draw here earlier in the year, Arsenal found themselves being dragged into an end-to-end battle, rattled by the speed and directness of United's attacking. They had David Raya to thank for staying ahead as he saved well from close range to deny Matheus Cunha before half-time.

Arteta's men were somewhat tighter after the break but rarely clicked into full gear. Arsenal found it hard to control United, who planned to thrive in their own chaotic moments created by a new-look attack.

They did manage to get over the line, though. With the sort of grit, dogged-mindedness, and steel that has gotten them so close to major honours in the last three years, Arsenal ran off back to north London with valuable opening day points.

Here, football.london goes through some of the finer moments from the game.

Celebration police

Arsenal's ability to try and calm matches down and stay together is one of the strongest areas of their game. They have created a bond between the squad and that transmits to the supporters as well.

They aim to show off their tight-knit group as much as possible. Before kick-off, the players had their huddle in front of the away section, moving from the middle of the pitch to the corner of the box.

Then, after Calafiori had put Arsenal ahead, there was another meeting. A host of white shirts met to talk things through after what had been a frantic start to the game.

There was not a lot of time for Calafiori to actually celebrate his goal although he did sprint off shouting and cheering. Soon enough, Arsenal's pack of leaders were putting their heads together again and working out ways to shut down United's fast and direct attacks.

It almost appeared to backfire as United went immediately down the other end and won a dangerous free kick. Saliba was again caught out and Rice was once more needed to jump in and defend.

A similar pattern carried on as Arsenal just about held it together, playing through large spells where they were not up to the usual standards.

Conductor Rice

Much like Arsenal's senior players taking it upon themselves to get things in shape mid-game is nothing new, neither is Rice gesturing and orchestrating things. As the centre of the team, literally and figuratively, he did the same again here.

An energetic and atmosphere-fuelled opening to the game saw Arsenal chasing the ball over their heads as United attempted to spring through the lines, looking towards Bryan Mbeumo constantly. It was unusual to see William Saliba ruffled and Martin Zubimendi knocked off his metronomic stride.

Rice, acting as the cool presence, spoke to his defenders and instructed them to switch on. It appeared to work as Arsenal did then slowly find their feet in the game but Saliba did not bring the composed authority that is so often on show.

Rice and Zubimendi continued to be played through and around, with plenty of discussions going on across the field to remedy matters. When needed, Arsenal did decide to sit in and take the sting out of the game, something Rice is excellent at marshalling, but he would not have been expecting to deliver such strong instructions to his centre-backs so early.

Naughty Gyokeres

It took 26 minutes for Viktor Gyokeres to have his first real impact on the game but it wasn't what he would have hoped for. As he ran in front of Bayindir, who had the ball in his hands, referee Simon Hooper blew his whistle.

Gyokeres turned around in confusion. Hooper greeted him and explained that stopping Bayindir from getting the ball back into play was now deemed to be a foul, and that he was to stay clear of the goalkeeper in those situations.

For such a battering ram of a player, it is not in Gyokeres' nature to steer away from opponents, especially not when the ball is there to be had. Unfortunately for Gyokeres it was one of the few moments where he found himself involved in the first half.

There was a dug-out cross to Gabriel Martinelli, who ought to have done better than failing to make proper contact with an attempted bicycle kick, and the trademark channel runs to shove off Luke Shaw and find space, but he was rarely near the ball in the build-up or found in the box either.

In a game that was not lacking in narrative, especially when it came to the two strikers on show (or not, as it happened, with Benjamin Sesko left on the bench), it was not the ideal start. Arsenal and United had both been battling for strikers over the summer with Andrea Berta pivoting towards Gyokeres ahead of Sesko.

This was the chance for one of them to have a perfect introduction to life in the Premier League. It wasn't to be.