Wenger Revolution: kicking out, corners that fly beyond the line …

Arsène Wenger is ready to revolutionize football at 70 years of age. After a more discreet career as a player than the one he lived as a coach, leaving an invincible Arsenal for the history of English football, his next challenge is to give a return to the game he loves so much.

Since December 2019, Wenger is Director of World Soccer Development at FIFA and also a member of the advisory groups of the International Board (IFAB), which sets the rules of football worldwide. The Alsatian has thoroughly studied each World Cup in search of new variants and has several ideas in his head that could change the current concept.

The first is the offside change. The coach wants to update the rule and give the attacker an advantage to provoke more goals. This is how he explains it in the newspaper L'Equipe. “We have been thinking for a long time about changing the offside rule. Right now, you are offside if any part of your body that you can score with is ahead of the defender. I would like to change it and that will not be flagged. offside as long as a part of your body that you can score with is in line with the defender. It can be a notable advantage for the striker because it would force the defenders to play higher, “he explains.

Another rule that he also wants to change is the one relating to outs at corner kicks. The Frenchman explains that they are evaluating whether it is valid for the ball to go outside the baseline and re-enter to generate “new goal situations”. Statistical analysis has also led them to focus on throw-ins, for which Wenger seeks a solution that is already applied in other forms of football. “I would like to change the rule of the throw-in. With five minutes remaining, a throw-in should be an advantage but in fact, what you get is playing nine against ten and the statistics show that eight times out of ten you lose the ball . Therefore, in your half of the field, you should be able to play with your feet, “proposes the exgunner.

As a last measure, he has also thought that the fouls do not necessarily have to be taken by passing to another player or with a shot on goal and that they can be bounced by making a self-pass when they want to serve quickly. The Alsatian assures, that yes, that the rule of taking out the door within the large area caught him by surprise and that it was to his liking. “Now the first playmaker is the goalkeeper says”

Delap, Stoke and a torture with the throw-ins

They explain from England that the elimination of throw-ins is not a new idea for Arsène Wenger. The culprit of the occurrence was Rory Delap and his powerful throws that put the area almost like a corner. Arsenal used to clash a lot with Delap's team, Stoke, and did not get good results. Wenger did not like these tactics and came to describe them as a “rugby team.”

Tony Pulis, a former Stoke coach, was one of those who revealed the origin of the idea. “Vieira told me they hated coming to Stoke and that it was the only team that he spoke to and prepared about before the game. I know you've talked about banning throw-ins and you say they should be banned. It is music to my ears, “he said on the BBC station.