On Wednesday at the Etihad Stadium, football seemed very different in the absence of its usual accompaniments, but the goal of restarting the Premier League was achieved as Manchester City beat Arsenal 3-0.

Although the absence of spectators, inevitably, meant a strange lack of atmosphere at the ground and for the millions watching on television globally, the rhetoric about the sport being pointless without fans was not supported by the evidence of the 90 minutes on the field.

The league had officially ended its enforced three-month absence with Aston Villa’s 0-0 draw at home to Sheffield United a couple of hours earlier, but the prime time slot was saved for title-holders City’s clash against 13-time champions Arsenal.

It was business as usual on the field with City deserved winners thanks to goals from Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden while Arsenal were clear second-best, hampered by early injuries and the sending-off of error-prone substitute David Luiz soon after halftime.

Everything else about the night, however, was very unfamiliar.

It was also a night when Premier League players wore the slogan “Black Lives Matter” on their shirts. City and Arsenal players also took a knee with the referee before the kick-off of Wednesday's game, following an identical gesture at the start of the match between Aston Villa and Sheffield United.

City manager Pep Guardiola said white people should apologise for the treatment of black people.

“White people should apologise for the way we treated black people in the last 400 years,” Guardiola told a media conference after the match. “I feel ashamed for what we have done for black people around the world, not just America, the problem is everywhere.”

City forward Raheem Sterling said: “I see it as a massive step for the Premier League to allow something like that to happen.”

Luiz’s regret

Luiz, whose contract with Arsenal runs out at the end of the month, came on as a 24th minute substitute for the injured Pablo Mari but endured a dreadful night.

The central defender was at fault for Raheem Sterling’s opener just before the interval and then gave away the penalty for the second goal four minutes after the restart. Kevin De Bruyne scored from the spot, and Luiz’s expulsion, for the foul on Riyad Mahrez, meant his team were a man down.

“It’s my fault,” he said. “The team did well, especially with 10 men.”