Henry and Hasselbaink on the sidelines
The absence of each side’s master marksman diluted the prospect of a goal-fest on a sunny afternoon at Stamford Bridge.
A fractured toe kept Arsenal’s Thierry Henry out of the action while Chelsea’s Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink – who scored only one goal fewer than the Frenchman’s Golden Boot-winning 24 in the Premiership last season – was only among the substitutes.
Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri kept Eidur Gudjohnsen, who replaced Hasselbaink at half-time against Southampton on Wednesday, in attack alongside veteran Gianfranco Zola.
He was also able to recall Graeme Le Saux after injury but former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit was still troubled with a swollen instep.
Arsenal were relieved when skipper Patrick Vieira passed a fitness test and manager Arsene Wenger plumped for Sylvain Wiltord and Kanu as his front-line pairing.
