The Premier League is back and it couldn’t have come soon enough.

Manchester United kicked off the new season as only they could with a rather unentertaining win over Leicester City but, as Jose Mourinho would be quick to remind you, a win all the same.

Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side enter the new campaign as firm favourites to defend the title they won at a canter time out.

The swashbuckling Sky Blues might just be bracing themselves for a stronger challenge from Liverpool though, after Jurgen Klopp’s heavy investment in playing staff during the offseason.

However, the opening weekend might not prove to be the most accurate test of how the rest of the year might pan out, with many squads suffering from the late return of players who had been playing in the World Cup.

England players were amongst some of those given extended holidays after they defied all the odds to book their place in the final four of the competition.

Sadly, that was as far as it would go for the Three Lions who were painfully knocked out by eventual runners-up Croatia, before succumbing to Belgium in the 3/4 place play-off.

One positive that will long be remembered from that World Cup run though, was the contribution of the fans, making the refrain of “It’s coming home” famous worldwide.

It is no surprise then that the rest of the world took great satisfaction turning England’s anthem of hope into a tool with which to make fun of them.

And it seems the rest of the world wasn’t done there.

Arnautovic goads Walker

At the launch of the new Premier League season, West Ham forward Marko Arnautovic was keen to remind England full-back Kyle Walker of his failure to ultimately do what the fans were singing.

According to The Times, the Austrian was overheard goading Walker, telling the Manchester City defender that one of the reasons England did not win the tournament was that their fans got carried away by singing the song during the group stages.

The paper reports that Walker didn’t bite, and admitted England weren’t good enough to make the final.

Well, Marko might want to be careful anyway, you know, considering the fact that he plays in the English Premier League for English club West Ham and what not.

Either way, the mind games seem to have already started and the rest of the league will try anything to throw City off their game.

Whether they’ll be bothered by it though, is another question entirely.