Arsene Wenger transformed English football and is now trying to re-write the

On Oct 10, 2020

Arsene Wenger has spent his life transforming football. Whether it be from the dugout or in his role at FIFA, the Frenchman has constantly tried to mould the game to his vision.

He changed the face of English football when he arrived in north London in 1996, implementing new training and fitness methods and an offensive, possession-based style of play that revolutionised the domestic game.

There was also his willingness to rely on young players and a fascination with diet and nutrition that helped Arsenal win three league titles, two Doubles and seven FA Cups.

Arsene Wenger has proposed some radical changes to football’s rules in his role at FIFA

Wenger transformed English football at Arsenal and now hopes to mould the game to his vision

WENGER’S RADICAL RULE CHANGES

Throw-ins – Teams should be able to kick the ball back into play instead of throwing it back in, if they are inside their own half.

Offside – An attacker would not be offside if any part of their body with which they are allowed to score, such as a foot, head or shoulder, is in line with the penultimate defender.

Corners – Kicks which curve out of play and then back in again should be permitted.

Free-kicks – Players should be able to touch the ball to themselves to restart play, not be forced to pass to a team-mate.

His latest plan to overhaul some of football’s rules should come as no surprise then.

Throw-ins and a tweak to the offside law that would benefit attackers are just two of the latest ideas Wenger has had on how to bring his vision for football to life.

‘I would like to change the throw-in rule: five minutes before the end, a throw-in for you should be an advantage, but in these situations you are facing 10 outfield players in play, whilst you only have nine,’ Wenger told L’Equipe.

‘Stats show that in eight out of 10 of those throw-in situations, you lose the ball.

‘In your half of the pitch, you should have the possibility to take a kick instead.’

Also explaining his desire to change the offside rule, he said: ‘For the moment, you are offside if a part of your body that you can score with sits ahead of the body of a defender.

‘I would like it to be that there is no offside so long as a (single) body part which a player can score with is in line with the defender.

‘This could be too much of an advantage for an attacker, because that obliges the defenders to play higher up.’

Wenger wants throw-ins to change to ‘kick-ins’ to take away the defending team’s advantage

He wants the offside rule changed to stop strikers being penalised by the slightest of margins

Wenger had hinted at that possible change to the offside law earlier this year amid fury that VAR was ruling out goals by the slimmest of margins. If he bases his ideas on anger among fans, surely handball will be next?

On set pieces, Wenger wants the taker to be able to touch a free kick more than once and allow out-swinging corners to go out of play behind the goal before coming back onto the…