Arteta and Bruce may have preferred to stay far from the madding crowd | Barry Glendenning

Is playing in front of fans again good for everyone? Two Premier League managers are already sporting that haunted look

Three weeks into the Premier League campaign, the international break has presented us with an early opportunity to take stock. And while it’s far too soon to draw definitive conclusions from what we’ve seen, we must make do with what little evidence we have got.

For the prognosis looks bleak. Given the predictably furious reaction that greeted the Arsenal social media team’s tone-deaf decision to flag up a behind‑closed‑doors training ground win over Brentford this week, we can probably safely assume that any plans to release a commemorative DVD of this stirring victory have, much like any realistic aspirations of a top-four finish, been quietly shelved.