Arsenal slumped to a demoralising 2-0 defeat in their Premier League opener with West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium.

Cheikhou Kouyate headed the visitors into a 1-0 half-time lead shortly before the break in a half that the hosts dominated but failed to score.

Mauro Zarate then doubled the lead on 57 minutes to steepen the Gunners' task, and Slaven Bilic's side effectively closed out the game from there.

Here, Sports Mole sorts the heroes from the villains on a nightmare start for the hosts in North London.

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Goal

Petr Cech: Nightmare debut for Cech, who was arguably at fault for the first goal. Will surely improve to become the type of goalkeeper Arsenal believe him to be, but an ominous start nonetheless. (4/10)

Defence

Mathieu Debuchy: Looked relatively dodgy in possession and struggled with the troublesome Payet throughout. (5/10)

Per Mertesacker: Not that it says much but the big German was Arsenal's best defender on the day. (6/10)

Laurent Koscielny: Produced a few last-ditch tackles but also put his keeper under serious pressure when his suicidal header was almost pounced on by Sakho. (5/10)

Nacho Monreal: Got forward plenty but added virtually nothing to the attack after producing a number of poor deliveries from promising areas. (5/10)

Midfield

Francis Coquelin: It remains to be seen if he is the man to anchor Arsenal's midfield - and this performance did not answer those questions one way or the other. (5/10)

Santi Cazorla: Buzzed around the place as usual but his delivery was uncharacteristically poor from open play and set pieces. One to forget. (5/10)

Aaron Ramsey: Nowhere near his best but one of few Arsenal players who tried to make something happen on the day. (6/10)

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: Superb first half but the jet-heeled winger faded badly after the break. Almost scored with what would have been a goal-of-the-season contender come May. (6/10)

Mesut Ozil: Like so many of his attack-minded teammates, failed to have an influence as he ran and passed into walls time and time again. (5/10)

Attack

Olivier Giroud: Only found himself with one clear chances throughout the 90 minutes - and he stuck it into Row Z. Lacked service but it remains to be seen if he's the striker Arsenal need to win titles. (5/10)

Substitutes

Theo Walcott: Replaced Coquelin shortly after the Gunners went 2-0 down but he had little to no impact. (4/10)

Alex Sanchez: Did not look completely fit and he wasted Arsenal's best chance of the game late on. Wenger would not have wanted to use him, but desperate times etc. (5/10)

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Goal

Adrian: Had precious little to do and never really looked like being beaten today. (6/10)

Defence

James Tomkins: Had to be careful after being booked but he responded well and looked a capable deputy for the ineligible Carl Jenkinson. (6/10)

Winston Reid: Helped shackle Giroud and looked determined to help his team earn a clean sheet. Fine game. (7/10)

Angelo Ogbonna: Superb debut from the big man, who looked excellent alongside centre-half partner Reid throughout. Big part in the clean sheet. (8/10)

Aaron Cresswell: Endured an ominous start against the tricky Oxlade-Chamberlain but soon rose to the challenge and kept his compatriot relatively quiet. (7/10)

Midfield

Mark Noble: Booked after just five minutes but balanced well on that disciplinary tightrope and proved a big factor in the result. (7/10)

Reece Oxford: Only 16 but did not look out of place one bit on his Premier League debut. Subbed with 10 minutes to play. (7/10)

Cheikhou Kouyate: Opened the scoring with a good header - albeit when Cech had abandoned his line. Good display overall. (7/10)

Dimitri Payet: The Hammers' best player on the day and, at £10m, may prove to be one of the best signings of the season. (8/10)

Attack

Mauro Zarate: Doubled the lead with a fine strike from outside the box. Bilic could be the man to get the best of him this season. (7/10)

Diafra Sakho: Tireless performance from the Senegalese, who probably should have added a third late on but Koscielny thwarted him. Good performance overall. (6/10)

Substitutes

Matt Jarvis: Helped consolidate the lead by beefing up the Hammers' midfield after replacing Zarate. (6/10)

Kevin Nolan: Replaced the impressive Oxford and the wise head helped West Ham see out the win. (6/10)

Written by
Shane Callaghan