Arsenal made a controversial start to its Premier League campaign Saturday as striker Gervinho was sent off on his debut in a scrappy 0-0 draw at Newcastle United. The Ivory Coast striker had appeared to go down easily toward the end of the game, prompting Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton to grab his shirt and pull him up. Gervinho then slapped Barton, who fell over theatrically and was lucky his involvement in the scuffle did not earn him more than a yellow card at St. James' Park. Barton was a surprise inclusion in the Newcastle team after being transfer-listed earlier this week. Arsenal dominated possession with its trademark passing game but without captain Cesc Fabregas and fellow midfielder Samir Nasri, who look poised for moves to Barcelona and Manchester City respectively, lacked a decent final ball. In other matches, Liverpool rued a missed penalty and a disallowed goal as it drew 1-1 at home to Sunderland and newcomer Queens Park Rangers got a rude awakening when it was thumped 4-0 at home to Bolton Wanderers. But there was better news for another of the newly promoted Championship teams as Norwich earned a point with a 1-1 draw at Wigan. At Ewood Park, Wolves came from behind to defeat Blackburn 2-1. In Saturday's other early game, Fulham and Aston Villa ground out a 0-0 stalemate at Craven Cottage. Holder Manchester United launches its season at West Bromwich Albion Sunday while Chelsea travels to Stoke. Manchester City kicks off its season at home to Swansea Monday. Bayern wins; Dortmund beaten In Berlin, Luiz Gustavo's injury-time winner earned Bayern Munich a 1-0 win at Wolfsburg Saturday, while defending champion Borussia Dortmund was beaten 1-0 at Hoffenheim. Franck Ribery cut the ball back for Brazilian midfielder Luiz Gustavo to shoot from outside the penalty area, Diego Benaglio getting his hands to the ball but failing to keep it out. Elsewhere, Schalke beat Cologne 5-1, Hamburger SV drew 2-2 with Hertha Berlin, Nuremberg lost 2-1 at home to Hannover, and Mainz won 2-1 in Freiburg. Borussia Moenchengladbach and Stuttgart tie also ended in a 1-1 draw. PSG held at Rennes In Paris, the travails of Paris Saint-Germain continued as it drew 1-1 with Rennes, barely looking like a big-spending team contending for the French league title. Also, it was: Lyon 1, Ajaccio 1; Lorient 1, Bordeaux 1; Sochaux 1, Caen 2; Saint-Etienne 1, Nancy 0; Toulouse 2, Dijon 0.
