For many people, Liverpool's 4-3 victory over Arsenal was an opening-day Premier League classic. It had all the excitement that is associated with the English top flight, an abundance of skill on show and enough goals to satisfy the shortest of attention spans.
It also exposed the shortcomings in a league where defending is becoming a lost art and pointed to the paucity of on-field leadership at two of England's biggest clubs.
Last season, Leicester City won the title with a gameplan based around a rugged, unspectacular back four, a midfield who worked to screen those behind them and a rapid-response counterattack.
The blueprint worked because players like Kasper Schmeichel, Robert Huth, Danny Drinkwater and Jamie Vardy took responsibility, constantly urging their teammates on: encouraging them when needed, criticising them when necessary. Leicester, in short, had a backbone.
Both Arsenal and Liverpool have an abundance of forward-going talent but struggled when backpedalling. Each team can point to absent defenders. Arsenal were missing Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker and Gabriel Paulista but few would say with any confidence that these three centre backs would have transformed the game.
Arsenal's defensive problems are systemic: Their full-backs regularly overcommit and leave the central defenders isolated, while their midfielders give little thought to the destructive side of the game.
There are other problems for Arsene Wenger to address. When Philippe Coutinho went down in a heap after being set free on goal with a quarter of the game left and Arsenal trailing 4-1, there was a lengthy break while the Brazilian was treated and then substituted.
The home crowd at the Emirates was quiet and subdued but they seemed rowdy compared with Wenger's players. This was a perfect opportunity for the team to take stock, rouse each other and demand more effort. Instead, the Arsenal players seemed wrapped up in their own thoughts and there was little communication between individuals.
Graeme Souness, a formidable leader during his playing career, called the Gunners "a team of son-in-laws" last season. Wenger has proved that nice guys don't finish last. Arsenal are a top-four staple, yet it takes something else -- a streak of nastiness, an unpleasant competitiveness -- to deliver titles and Champions Leagues.
Arsenal do not have it and, on the evidence of the past decade, Wenger does not know where to find it in the transfer market. When things go wrong for the Gunners their meekness, not their ability, comes to the fore.
Liverpool, meanwhile, lack character and the sort of intangible presence a leader brings. Jurgen Klopp is still finding his feet at Anfield but, amid the positive signs, there are indications that some of the long-term problems persist. Under Fenway Sports Group's ownership, Liverpool have targeted young players but youth rarely comes packaged up with leadership.
When things are going well for Klopp's side they swarm forward with conviction but they are susceptible to swings in momentum. When they are under pressure they can display an ugly, every-man-for-himself attitude. Like Arsenal, Liverpool's seems to be a dressing-room without many natural leaders.
In the short term, more defensive organisation would improve Liverpool. Their vulnerability at set pieces will worry Klopp but this is a problem that should be solved on the training ground.
Dejan Lovren's tendency to be sucked out of position needs to be addressed and the left-back position is a real problem. James Milner will replace Alberto Moreno in the role as soon as the Englishman is fit, which sets up the bizarre situation where one of the club's highest earners is playing on the left side of defence. If that is not proof that things are still out of kilter at Anfield then nothing is.
The last two teams to win the title -- Chelsea and Leicester -- got the balance right, mixing defence and attack, character and talent. Liverpool and Arsenal seem lopsided by comparison, while Pep Guardiola's Manchester City do not seem secure at the back, either. It will take time at the Etihad to get the right blend.
Leicester's Premier League win was underpinned by six 1-0 victories in 2016. The key to success in an increasingly competitive competition will be the teams that can grind out results.
Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham Hotspur put a premium on defending and should become more adept at killing games off this season. Antonio Conte is making solidity his top priority at Chelsea and intends his defence to be mean. Jose Mourinho is as obsessed with tightening Manchester United up at the back as he is proving his critics wrong. Tottenham, Chelsea and Man United all look less fragile than Arsenal and Liverpool.
It will be tight at the top in the Premier League this season but Arsenal and Liverpool will need to tighten up at the back if they are to be involved in the title race. It will be hard to defend Wenger or Klopp if their teams leak goals as easily as they did at the Emirates.
