The two sides had come into this end-to-end London derby separated by just one point and a single place and there was little to divide them at the final whistle, too.
Indeed, it was testament to the ultra-confident Hammers' bright start to the season, that they were the team with the slight edge over their more illustrious London rivals following successive away victories at Fulham and Sheffield Wednesday.
West Ham made nine changes from the side that had won their Carling Cup tie at Hillsborough to revert to the eleven that had been victorious at Craven Cottage, while seventh-placed Arsenal, already minus goal-ace Thierry Henry, found themselves without another striker as the injured Robert Pires was replaced by Alexander Hleb following their 2-0 win over Everton.
The Gunners had yet to return from this season's travels with any points, but they could well have taken an early lead when Robin Van Persie burst into the box only to be foiled by Roy Carroll's assured save.
In reply, Teddy Sheringham almost out-witted the flat-footed Jens Lehmann with a low 18-yard free-kick which curled inches wide of the German's right-hand post, as West Ham showed that they were not in awe of their more illustrious London neighbours.
With Paul Konchesky and the rest of the Hammers' defence in unyielding mood, the misfiring Gunners - despite their superior, incisive passing moves - were finding clear-cut goal chances equally hard to come by.
On the half-hour mark, though, Jose Antonio Reyes chipped out a clever 20-yarder that whistled into the side-netting and then as the interval neared, Van Persie scooped over from close range to keep it goalless at the break.
Just after the restart Matthew Etherington's half-cleared corner fell to Yossi Benayoun whose volley was held on his own goalline by the well-placed Lehmann and, as the temperature started to rise, both Sheringham and Tomas Repka were booked.
And when Cesc Fabregas appeared to handle Nigel Reo-Coker's hooked shot, the Upton Park tension created by a full house bubbled yet further, while a full-blooded challenge between Gilberto and Benayoun then saw the boy from Brazil hobble away to be replaced by Mathieu Flamini.
Shortly afterwards the subdued Reyes was withdrawn as the pacy Quincy Owusu-Abeyie was pitched into the fray.
The tiring legs of Sheringham were then swapped for the fresher limbs of Bobby Zamora who marked his arrival by wastefully heading well wide from six yards.
But by the time Arsene Wenger also withdrew the labouring Van Persie, it was readily apparent that the stalemate was not going to be broken on an afternoon when Arsenal were happy to have garnered their first away point of the season and Premiership new boys West Ham had, once again, shown no fear.
Man-of-the-Match: Paul Konchesky - Silenced Highbury's big guns with the type defensive display that could see him get a call from England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.