NEW Arsenal head coach Unai Emery began life at Ashburton Grove yesterday with defeat as Manchester City started their Premier League title defence with a well-deserved victory.

Emery has promised to take Arsenal in a “new way” after replacing Arsene Wenger in May and there were some signs of it here, although the reigning champions proved to be too strong for the Gunners on their way to a 2-0 win.

This was Pep Guardiola’s 11th meeting with Emery and he remains unbeaten against his fellow Spaniard as Raheem Sterling’s 50th Premier League goal got the ball rolling before Bernardo Silva struck in the second half.

City thrashed Wenger’s Arsenal 3-0 twice in four days last season but there was renewed vigour heading into the campaign, with Emery keen not to dwell on the Frenchman’s reig, admitting he has not had a conversation with his predecessor at any point.

Emery’s side looked good early on, chasing and pressing the opposition much more than in the latter stages of Wenger’s tenure — even if a similar result was the eventual outcome.

Despite their bright start, Arsenal fell behind — Petr Cech failed to cover himself in glory as Sterling opened the scoring with a long-range strike that appeared to flash past the unsighted Gunners captain.

Cech suffered a heart-in-mouth moment as Arsenal tried, and failed, to play out from the back — the former Chelsea man almost turning the ball into his own goal as he attempted to pass across to Shkodran Mustafi.

Preferred to summer signing Bernd Leno, Cech went some way to making amends for his shaky start to the season by pushing away a low Riyad Mahrez free-kick and then blocking Aymeric Laporte’s close-range follow-up.

Sergio Aguero saw an early second-half strike deflected behind for a corner before Emery brought on Alexandre Lacazette for Aaron Ramsey.

The France striker injected more urgency into Arsenal’s attacks and sent an effort just wide only moments after coming on.

The visitors should have been out of sight as Aguero burst through on goal following Matteo Guendouzi’s missed interception — but the usually clinical Argentinian’s strike was saved by Cech.

Just moments later the points were secured as Benjamin Mendy’s cut-back was turned home brilliantly by Bernardo, with substitute Kevin De Bruyne’s last-gasp strike tipped over the crossbar.