Arsenal vs. Sunderland: Offensive Struggles Will Be a Common Theme for Gunners

The sting created by Robin van Persie's departure is only going to get worse as Arsenal continues to put up offensive results similar to the one that left them with a 0-0 draw with Sunderland in the Emirates for their EPL opener on Sunday. 

There were some positives to take from this match, but as the boos from disappointed fans leaving the Emirates suggests, the lack of offensive punch is going to be difficult to digest. 

In this match, Arsenal controlled the ball and the flow, but they couldn't do a thing with it. They had 70 percent possession, took seven corners and 23 shots, yet remarkably, just three of those shots were on goal.

Arsenal was inefficient, made bad decisions and, offensively, looked like a miscast group of players. 

Yes, this will get better as the campaign rolls on and these guys get comfortable in their roles and discover some chemistry. But they are always going to struggle to score goals. 

Lukas Podolski, one of three new signings who was supposed to help the Gunners move on from the loss of RvP and now Alex Song, looked lost in center-forward position. He was constantly far too deep and not nearly opportunistic enough to take advantage of scoring chances—and he had a couple in the six-yard box. 

Olivier Giroud, another of the new acquisitions, also took a stab at that center-forward position. He certainly looked far more natural there. But while he created some nice chances, he wasted them all. 

The third new acquisition, Santi Cazorla, had a much more sterling debut. He was pushing the ball forward and delivering the kind of passes that can create scores. 

The problem is, who's going to score them? Giroud will certainly be good for some, but he is going to waste more opportunities than he converts. Podolski is a talented finisher, but he is not good off of crosses, and he looked completely out of place in his new setting. 

There is always Theo Walcott, but the ball he fired into the side of the net when he had no chance of a goal should tell us that it is just going to be more of the same from him. 

This is a talented squad, and they will certainly win their share of matches, but they will do so in low-scoring fashion.