Arsenal’s 5 most memorable opening day Premier League games – ranked!

3. Everton 1-4 Arsenal (2004)

Number three takes us back to happier times in the early noughties when Arsenal began the defence of their golden Premier League crown with a resounding triumph on Merseyside.

Despite reaching the summit of English football just months before this meeting, the champions demonstrated their professionalism and insatiable desire for success with another typically impressive display to put Everton to the sword.

The Goodison goal glut began midway through the first half when a fine Jose Antonio Reyes-inspired team move found its way to Bergkamp who subsequently rifled the ball past Nigel Martyn, while the Spaniard doubled the lead soon after by steering a powerful header into the net.

The one-way traffic continued in the second period and this time Everton were the architects of their demise, with a poor Joseph Yobo pass easily intercepted by Bergkamp before ‘Iceman’ managed to pick out Henry who, in turn, set up Freddie Ljungberg for a simple tap-in.

A Lee Carsley consolation meant there would be no clean sheet to kick off the new campaign, but a late Robert Pires effort added to the tally and helped Arsenal back to the familiarity of pole position.

Continued on the next slide…