The anticipation was high, the excitement levels soaring – this would be the day when Petr Cech would play his first game for Arsenal. Well, not quite.
Unfortunately, for all the Gooners out there, Arsene Wenger thought otherwise.
In Arsenal's first match of the Barclays Asia Tour, Wenger played two goalkeepers, one for each half, but Cech was not one of them, as Emiliano Martinez and Wojciech Szczesny took their places in front of the sticks, with the new signing watching on from the sidelines.
Arsenal cruised to a 4-0 win over Singapore Select XI, and while the majority Arsenal-supporting crowd were treated to some outstanding football, there was still that deflated feeling, as the Cech was put on ice.
The Arsenal manager had warned that the players who had only come in late last week would not play a part in the first game of the Barclays Asia Tour 2015, but with Cech being a goalkeeper, and the centre of attention, you felt the former Chelsea man might get a run-out in the middle.
It was not to be, even if there was a huge roar every time the cameras focussed on the big goalkeeper, who gave a wave or two, as his new teammates sniggered at the extra attention the Premier League legend was getting.
If there was one thing that was obvious, it was that Cech seems to have settled down pretty well already at Arsenal, as you could see he was having a few enjoyable conversations with the rest of the Arsenal players.
Of the big names in the side, only Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Per Mertesacker played in the first match, with Francis Coquelin again having a good game, while Mathieu Flamini, Gabriel, Mathieu Debuchy and Nacho Monreal, amid transfer speculation, were given game-time as well.
The rest of the squad was about the youngsters, with Alex Iwobi and Chuba Akpom, who grabbed a hat-trick, impressing.
Saturday's Barclays Asia Tour final against Everton, though, will see the likes of Santi Cazorla, Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey, Olivier Giroud, Mesut Ozil and that man Cech putting on a show for the Arsenal fans at the Singapore National Stadium.
"Today I left nine players out, they will be involved on Saturday," Wenger said. "I will rotate a bit because the week after we play two games again. For me at the moment the [objective is] to give competition to the players without overloading them and [for them] to be capable to work hard in training and to work on their fitness. If they play too many games, you cannot work in training.
"I have not decided yet [how much time they will get] but you will see them of course. They didn't play [the first game] because they just came back on Friday and I wanted them to have at least one week of preparation before the first game."
Cech will be the cynosure again on Saturday. Everyone – well barring the Chelsea fans maybe, but then they have had plenty to smile about of late, haven't they – will want to see the big man in action for Arsenal against Everton, even if it is only a preseason match, and, hopefully, Wenger will not play party pooper to the fans one more time.
