On a bright lunchtime in early October 2018, Arsenal came to picturesque Craven Cottage. After their hosts Fulham had equalised through Andre Schurrle, a World Cup winner, the guests dazzled, winning 5-1. At the Bishop’s Park End, supporters sang long and loud: ‘We’ve got our Arsenal back!”
It was the sound of hope and optimism, qualities that in English football need only the lightest stimulation.
Since that day, Arsenal have changed manager twice and recorded their lowest finishing position in the table for a quarter of a century.
Fulham have been relegated and then promoted again. But when those two clubs meet on Saturday, at lunchtime at a Craven Cottage undergoing reconstruction but always picturesque, there will be optimism in abundance. Only it will be harder to hear it, with no fans in west London or in any ground.
Optimism will also be tempered. The 2020/21 Premier League season begins amid the usual patchwork of hopes – Can those Gunners really get their Arsenal back? Can Liverpool’s remarkable momentum continue? How real is Manchester United’s advance? – but beyond all that broader doubts over whether the Premier League can regain its status as the most admired and envied domestic competition anywhere.
Will the season even finish on time? The pandemic casts a long shadow. Three days before Fulham and Arsenal raise the curtain, new restrictions on gatherings of people in England have been imposed by a UK government fearful of rising numbers of Covid-19 infections. Cautious plans to have limited access to stadiums for paying fans in October are back under review.
The global appeal of English top-flight football – “our Hollywood,” as one former UK foreign secretary described the great televised export that is the Premier League – has been partly built on the vibrant atmospheres of its stadiums. That, in turn, has nourished the league’s financial muscle, the power to recruit so many of the world’s leading players.
“We have to get fans back into stadiums,” warns Richard Masters, CEO of the Premier League. “It’s the big thing that’s missing, economic or otherwise.” Informed estimates have the Premier League £700 million (Dh3.4 billion) poorer if there are no crowds throughout 2020-21.
Other leagues face the same restrictions and will suffer financially from playing behind closed doors, and there remains envy from aboard towards a league that can still pack the mightiest punch in the transfer market.
It has a club, Chelsea, who can afford to poach two of the brightest talents from the Bundesliga, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner, for a combined £120m.
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This summer's major moves in transfer market
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Ibrahima Diallo - Brest to Southampton (£12 million). AFP -
Moise Kean - Everton to Paris Saint-Germain (loan). Getty Images -
Jose Callejon (left) - Napoli to Fiorentina (free). AP Photo -
Matteo Darmian - Parma to Inter Milan (loan). AFP -
Ryan Sessegnon - Tottenham to Hoffenheim (loan). AFP -
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting - Paris Saint-Germain to Bayern Munich (free). Reuters -
Douglas Costa - Juventus to Bayern Munich. Getty Images -
Davy Klaassen - Werder Bremen to Ajax (£10 million). Getty Images -
Wesley Hoedt - Southampton to Lazio (loan). Getty Images -
Ruben Vinagre - Wolves to Olympiakos (loan). AFP -
Justin Kluivert - Roma to RB Leipzig (loan). AFP -
Bouna Sarr - Marseille to Bayern Munich (£9 million). AFP -
Mattia De Sciglio - Juventus to Lyon (loan). Getty Images -
Tiemoue Bakayoko - Chelsea to Napoli (loan). Getty Images -
Matteo Guendouzi - Arsenal to Hertha Berlin (loan). Reuters -
Federico Chiesa - Fiorentina to Juventus (loan). Reuters -
Guido Carrillo - Southampton to Elche (loan). Reuters -
Gerard Deulofeu - Watford to Udinese (loan). Reuters -
Sofiane Boufal - Southampton to Angers (free). Getty Images -
Jack Wilshere - released. Reuters -
Chris Smalling - Manchester United to Roma (£13.5 million). Reuters -
Michael Cuisance - Bayern Munich to Marseille (loan). EPA -
The Premier League begins on Saturday. PA -
Diego Laxalt- AC Milan to Celtic (loan). EPA -
Edinson Cavani - Paris Saint-Germain to Manchester United (free). Reuters -
Theo Walcott - Everton to Southampton (loan). Reuters -
Raphinha - Rennes to Leeds United (£17 million). AFP -
Victor Mollejo - Atletico Madrid to Getafe (loan). EPA -
Lucas Torreira - Arsenal to Atletico Madrid (loan). Getty Images -
Alex Telles - Porto to Manchester United (£13.5 million). AFP -
Thomas Partey - Atletico Madrid to Arsenal (£45 million). AFP -
Rafinha - Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain (£2.7 million). EPA -
Facundo Pellistri - Penarol to Manchester United (£10 million). AFP -
Ruben Loftus-Cheek - Chelsea to Fulham (loan). PA -
Diogo Dalot - Manchester United to AC Milan (loan). Reuters -
Keita Balde - Monaco to Sampdoria (loan). Reuters -
Ruben Dias - Benfica to Manchester City (£62 million). Getty -
Nicolas Otamendi - Manchester City to Benfica (£13.6m). Reuters -
Ross Barkley - Chelsea to Aston Villa (loan). AFP -
Ademola Lookman (right) - RB Leipzig to Fulham (loan). AP Photo -
Lucas Paqueta - AC Milan to Lyon (£18.2 million). AFP -
Sergino Dest - Ajax to Barcelona (£19.1 million). EPA -
Wesley Fofana - Saint Etienne to Leicester City (£36.5 million). Reuters -
Rhian Brewster - Liverpool to Sheffield United (£23.5 million). Reuters -
Carlos Vinicius - Benfica to Tottenham Hotspur (loan). Reuters -
Andreas Pereira - Manchester United to Lazio (loan). Getty Images -
Jota - Aston Villa (free agent). EPA -
Sven Ulreich - Bayern Munich to Hamburg (£500,000). AFP -
Daniele Rugani - Juventus to Rennes (loan). Reuters -
Adrien Silva - Leicester City to Sampdoria (free). Getty Images -
Juan Foyth - Tottenham to Villarreal (loan). Reuters -
Loris Karius - Liverpool to Union Berlin (loan). Reuters -
Kevin-Prince Boateng - Fiorentina to Monza (undisclosed). AFP -
Roberto Pereyra - Watford to Udinese (£3 million). Reuters -
Edouard Mendy - Reims to Chelsea (£22 million). EPA -
Santiago Arias - Atletico Madrid to Bayer Leverkusen (loan). EPA -
Dale Stephens - Brighton to Burnley (£1 million). EPA -
Luis Suarez - Barcelona to Atletico Madrid (£5.5 million). AFP -
Diego Godin - Inter Milan to Cagliari (free). Reuters -
Cengiz Under - Roma to Leicester City (loan). EPA -
Ravel Morrison - Sheffield United to Ado Den Haag (free). PA -
Runar Alex Runarsson - Dijon to Arsenal (£1.8 million). Reuters -
Arturo Vidal - Barcelona to Inter Milan (£900,000). Reuters -
Alvaro Morata - Atletico Madrid to Juventus (loan). AFP -
Alexander Sorloth - Crystal Palace to RB Leipzig (£20 million). Reuters -
Diego Llorente - Real Valladolid to Leeds United (£23 million). EPA -
Nelson Semedo - Barcelona to Wolves (£27.6 million). AFP -
Gareth Bale - Real Madrid to Tottenham (loan). Reuters -
Thiago Alcantara - Bayern Munich to Liverpool (£27 million). Getty Images -
Bertrand Traore - Lyon to Aston Villa (£17 million). Reuters -
Davide Zappacosta - Chelsea to Genoa (loan). AFP -
Sergio Reguilon - Real Madrid to Tottenham (£27.5 million). Reuters -
Diogo Jota - Wolves to Liverpool (£41 million). Reuters -
Ki-Jana Hoever - Liverpool to Wolves (£9 million). Reuters -
Vedat Muriqi - Fenerbahce to Lazio (£16.2 million). Reuters -
Yoshinori Muto - Newcastle United to Eibar (loan). Getty Images -
Yann M'Vila - Saint Etienne to Olympiakos (free). AP Photo -
Emiliano Martinez - Arsenal to Aston Villa (£20 million). Reuters -
Gonzalo Higuain - Juventus to Inter Miami (free). AFP -
Michy Batshuayi - Chelsea to Crystal Palace (loan). AFP -
Nacer Chadli - Monaco to Istanbul Basaksehir (undisclosed). Reuters -
Kenny Tete - Lyon to Fulham (£3 million). AFP -
Andre Silva - AC Milan to Eintracht Frankfurt (£8.1 million). Reuters -
Florian Lejeune - Newcastle United to Alaves (loan). Getty Images -
Alessandro Florenzi - Roma to PSG (loan). AFP -
Ola Aina - Torino to Fulham (loan). Reuters -
Ciprian Tatarusanu - Lyon to AC Milan (£450,000). AFP -
Loic Mbe Soh - Paris Saint-Germain to Nottingham Forest (£5 million). AFP -
Ante Rebic - Eintracht Frankfurt to AC Milan (£8.1 million). AFP -
Callum Robinson - Sheffield United to West Bromwich Albion (swap). Reuters -
Oliver Burke - West Bromwich Albion to Sheffield United (swap). Reuters -
Alphonse Areola - PSG to Fulham (loan). Reuters -
Aleksandar Kolarov - Roma to Inter Milan (£900k). Reuters -
Kenedy - Chelsea to Granada (loan). Reuters -
Jamal Lewis - Norwich City to Newcastle United (£15 million). Reuters -
Yannick Carrasco - Dalian Pro to Atletico Madrid (£20 million). Reuters -
Rafael da Silva - Lyon to Istanbul Basaksehir (free). Reuters -
Angelino - Manchester City to RB Leipzig (loan extended). AFP -
James Rodriguez - Real Madrid to Everton (£22 million). Getty Images -
Ethan Ampadu - Chelsea to Sheffield United (loan). Reuters -
Ryan Fraser - Bournemouth to Newcastle (free). AP Photo -
Chris Brunt - West Brom to Bristol City (free). Reuters -
Callum Wilson - Bournemouth to Newcastle (£20 million). AFP -
Fabio Silva - Porto to Wolves (£35 million). AFP -
Borja Baston - Aston Villa to Leganes (free). AFP -
Bono - Girona to Sevilla (£3.6 million). Reuters -
Allan - Napoli to Everton (£22.5 million). AP -
Sergio Rico - Sevilla to Paris Saint-Germain (£5.4 million). Reuters -
Miralem Pjanic - Juventus to Barcelona (€60 million). Reuters -
Arthur - Barcelona to Juventus (€72 million). AFP -
Shane Duffy - Brighton to Celtic (loan). EPA -
Kevin Volland - Bayer Leverkusen to Monaco (£14 million). EPA -
Abdoulaye Doucoure - Watford to Everton (£20 million). Reuters -
Alvaro Odriozola - Bayern Munich to Barcelona (loan ended). EPA -
Philippe Coutinho - Bayern Munich to Barcelona (loan ended). Reuters -
Matty Cash - Nottingham Forest to Aston Villa (£16 million). Reuters -
Dani Ceballos - Real Madrid to Arsenal (loan extended). Reuters -
Ivan Rakitic - Barcelona to Sevilla ( £1.4 million). Reuters -
Gabriel - Lille top Arsenal (£27 million). Reuters -
Glenn Murray - Brighton & Hove Albion to Watford (free). Getty Images -
Donny van de Beek - Ajax to Manchester United (£35.7 million). EPA -
Mario Lemina - Southampton to Fulham (loan). Action Images -
Kai Havertz - Bayer Leverkusen to Chelsea (£72 million). AFP -
Yuto Nagatomo - Galatasaray to Marseille (loan). Victor Besa/The National -
Henrikh Mkhitaryan - Arsenal to Roma (free). EPA -
Weston McKennie - Schalke to Juventus (loan). EPA -
Loic Remy - Lille to Caykur Rizespor (free). AP Images -
Aaron Mooy - Brighton to Shanghai SIPG (£4 million) - Reuters -
Matt Doherty - Wolves to Tottenham (£14.7 million). Getty Images -
Rodrigo - Valencia to Leeds United (£26 million). Reuters -
Eberechi Eze - QPR to Crystal Palace (£19.5 million). PA Photo -
Thiago Silva PSG to Chelsea (free). Reuters -
Pepe Reina - AC Milan to Lazio (free). AP Photo -
Malang Sarr - Nice to Chelsea (free). AFP -
Ben Chilwell - Leicester City to Chelsea (£45m). Reuters -
Santi Cazorla - Villarreal to Al Sadd (free). EPA -
Alexis Sanchez - Manchester United to Inter Milan (free). EPA -
Pedro - Chelsea to Roma (released). AFP -
Kostas Tsimikas - Olympiakos to Liverpool (£11.8m). Reuters -
Nathan Ake - Bournemouth to Manchester City (£41 million). PA -
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - Southampton top Tottenham (£15 million). Reuters -
Kyle Walker-Peters - Tottenham to Southampton (£12 million). AFP -
Francis Coquelin - Valencia to Villarreal (7.2 million). Reuters -
Blaise Matuidi - Juventus to Inter Miami FC (free). Getty Images -
Jan Vertonghen - Tottenham to Benfica (free). Reuters -
Willian - Chelsea to Arsenal (free). AFP -
Jeff Hendrick - Burnley to Newcastle United (free). AFP -
David Silva - Manchester City to Real Sociedad (free). Getty Images -
Oliver Skipp - Tottenham to Norwich City (loan). Reuters -
Claudio Bravo - Manchester City to Real Betis (free). Getty Images -
Jude Bellingham - Birmingham City to Borussia Dortmund (£25 million). Courtesy Borussia Dortmund -
Aaron Ramsdale - Bournemouth to Sheffield United (£18.5 million). AFP -
Reinier - Real Madrid to Borussia Dortmund (loan). Reuters -
Ricardo Rodriguez - AC Milan to Torino (£2.7 million). Reuters -
Scott Carson - Derby County to Manchester City (loan extended). EPA -
Antonio Adan - Atletico Madrid to Sporting (free). EPA -
Pablo Mari - Flamengo to Arsenal (£14 million). Reuters -
Joe Hart - Burnley to Tottenham (free). Reuters -
Timo Werner - RB Leipzig to Chelsea (£47.5 million). Reuters -
Dejan Lovren - Liverpool to Zenit (€12 million). AFP -
Adam Lallana - Liverpool to Brighton (free). Reuters
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It still entices the best of Dutch football – Donny van de Beek, Ajax to Manchester United – the brightest starlet from Portugal – Fabio Silva, Porto to Wolves – and routinely plucks off young Spanish excellence from La Liga – Ferran Torres, Valencia to Manchester City.
Even vulnerable Fulham can still recruit World Cup winners. France goalkeeper Alphonse Areola has just joined them, on loan, from Paris Saint-Germain.
But the assumption that the Premier League will, by force of wealth and its vibrant football culture, gradually end up dominating Europe has suffered an abrupt check.
In the hurried end of last season, no English club reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. Only one, United, made it to the last four of the Europa League. Perhaps that was a blip, but in the short-term it was a very pronounced one.
In 2018-19, Liverpool and Spurs contested the Champions League final and Chelsea won the Europa League, beating the Arsenal whose fans had displayed such optimism at Craven Cottage eight months earlier.
This season, mastering the continental competitions will be made harder by a taxing domestic schedule.
The pandemic, and the late start to 2020-21, means the vigour and stamina demanded of Premier League players is unusually daunting. Midweeks are filled to bursting, what with two Cup tournaments to accommodate, and an international calendar that will extend into July with the finals of various major continental showpieces.
Yes, la Liga, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 – providers of the Europa League winners, Sevilla, and the two European Cup finalists, Bayern Munich and PSG, last month – also face condensed calendar. But they have given themselves a little more leeway by continuing to allow five, rather than three substitutions, per game. The Premier League goes back to the old normal, with a ceiling on three subs.
That may mean slightly fewer minutes for the up-and-coming would-be stars hoping that 2020-21 will be their breakthrough, for the next Mason Greenwood or Trent Alexander-Arnold to make an initial impact.
What can be relied on in the Premier League is that there are many fresh, young talents ready and waiting to thrive. The pity is that they cannot know when they will do so in front of the noisy, packed arenas that first made them fall in love with the great theatre of the Premier League.
