SAFE PASSAGE

Gunners relieved to emerge unscathed from dead rubber

- Matthew Dunn

PUT simply, it was a match that started with absolutely no point and ended with one apiece for each side.

And on the plus side, Mikel Arteta escaped the injury risk of playing something approaching his strongest team.

But a meaningless game that could have been an excuse for a bit of experimental factfinding passed without any sign of the much-vaunted kids getting a runout.

Instead, Arteta's one attempt at a bit of tactical skulduggery had very mixed results.

For the last half-hour, Declan Rice, above, filled in as an unexpected center-back alongside Gabriel in a reprise of a role he played near the start of his career at West Ham under David Moyes. It proved to be a  less-than-perfect solution

Within four minutes, the England international was nearly embarrassed by Ismael Saibari, who bested him in a duel before rifling his shot against the foot of the post.