BURNLEY are looking forward to playing in front of football fans for the first time since March – even though they will not be their own.

With London placed in Tier 2 following the latest national lockdown, Arsenal have been able to open their doors to a maximum of 2,000 fans.

And while they will all be backing the Gunners, Clarets boss Sean Dyche feels it is a significant step towards football returning to some sort of normality.

“It’s generally good for football to have these signs and shoots of life coming out of the terraces,” he said.

“We hope it builds quickly on the recovery of the country. But I don’t know how it will affect the game.

“The percentage of fans compared to the size of the stadium is not going to be vast, but I hope it adds a feel to it.

“It just remains to be seen how much as it’s quite a low number considering.”

But Dyche insists Burnley will be braced if those supporters do give Arsenal a lift at the Emirates, where they have won only twice in the Premier League this season.

“Whether it does or it doesn’t (lift them), we have to react. We have to be proactive and expect a performance from them,” he said.

“We have to look at our performance, and look at the facts. There are going to be fans there, so I’m not over thinking what effect that will have because they want to give a performance, as do we.”

Performances have not necessarily been found wanting at the Emirates for Burnley, but it has not been a happy hunting ground. Far from it, with six defeats from their six Premier League visits.

It is a sequence that Dyche is determined to break.

“We have been close rather than awful in a few of them,” he said.

“I think we’ve played really well and we’ve taken them down to the wire, although a few of them have got away from us which can happen.

“You can’t guarantee that won’t happen against the superpowers if they really click into gear – any of the top six, top eight if they find their feet on any given day. So we have to safeguard that with our own performance, not hope they have a quiet day but make them have one with our own performance.”

Dyche is also keen to get a break with key decisions too having seen a number go against the Clarets previously.

“In theory, VAR would have been helpful,” he said. “There was the one with the last-minute corner that shouldn’t have been taken, then it was short, then it was offside and then it was handballed in. I do believe that was put in the process of changing the handball rule.”

But he does not subscribe to the theory that Burnley have a better chance of getting decisions against an Arsenal side in 15th rather than fifth place in the table.

“I don’t think there is any given that because you’re not as high up the table as most people thought they would be, you won’t get a decision,” said the Clarets boss.

“It would be nice if we do get a couple as I don’t think we’ve had our fair share this season. But if it comes down to a decision, we just hope it goes our way.”