Chris Hatherall: Home alone during Covid-19

Friendly match between Arsenal and Brentford this week ahead of the Premier League's return. Picture: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Friendly match between Arsenal and Brentford this week ahead of the Premier League's return. Picture: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Playing at home is one of the cornerstones of football and entrenched in our language. Such is the universal acceptance of home advantage that managers talk of making their home ground a fortress, whilst critics of referees describe those who are unduly influenced by the crowd as being ‘homers’.