It didn’t take long for those ‘Emptyhad’ gags to appear.
Manchester City supporter knew they were coming and even famous fan Jason Manford attempted to get in there first by pointing out how well attended their games usually are.
The Premier League resumed after a three-month break on Wednesday, but matches for the remaining season will be played behind closed doors.
City, up second in the Premier League’s restart, hosted Arsenal at the Etihad and fans watching on television at home were treated to crowd noise.
The top-flight has made artificial crowd noise available.
South Korea’s K League was the first this year to play crowd sounds over stadium loudspeakers while the Bundesliga and LaLiga has also added artificial noise to their games.
The Premier League have the option to do the same.
It will work with an ‘audio carpet’ of basic noise taken from a previous match mixed with the real noise of the actual game.
Sounds for scenarios such as goals, penalties and fouls will then be ‘inserted’ by a watching producer and Sky and BT Sport viewers have the option to turn it off.
It has divided opinion and even Liam Gallagher – one of the club’s most vocal fans – couldn’t help make a joke as he also made a dig at brother Noel’s High Flying Birds.
Former Liverpool defender Rob Jones, meanwhile poked fun at a record attendance for City.
