Arsenal fans will be excited by new rule that could soon arrive in the Premier League

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The laws of football seem to have changed a lot so far this decade.

First, the introduction of VAR in the 2019/20 Premier League campaign changed football as we know it in England – with every small infringement receiving a lengthy check by those in the booth at Stockley Park, and not even always coming to the correct decision.

It then caused a change to the handball law, as VAR officials displayed a concerning lack of common sense in the early days of technology, recommending a penalty be awarded for every single instance in which the ball made contact, regardless of whether a player’s arm was in a natural position or not.

Now – however – a rule which could soon arrive in the Premier League stands to benefit Arsenal more than most, if the Football Association (FA) give it the green light.

Arsenal could receive more corners under new law

A story from Martyn Ziegler of The Times now reveals that football rule makers could introduce a law which results in a corner being awarded, if a goalkeeper holds onto the ball for more than eight seconds.

As things stand, an indirect freekick is awarded for such an offence from a glovesman, although there is a desire to amend this rule, as officials believe sides then take too long to set up a defensive wall.

The Times state that this new punishment for goalkeepers who hold the ball for too long has been trialled in the U21 Premier League lately, where referees have been raising their hand and counting down.

Ziegler adds that law makers have been impressed by how the trials – which have also taken place in Malta – are going, with the U20 league in Italy now set to experience the new rule in another trial.

If that goes successfully too, The Times state that this rule is likely to be implemented across football – including the Premier League.

How many goals have Arsenal scored from corners?

If this rule does end up in the Premier League and goalkeepers struggle to cope with it, Mikel Arteta will be licking his lips.

At the time of writing, Arsenal have scored 22 goals from corner kicks alone since the start of last season – seven more than any other side – with Gabriel Magalhaes often being the most dangerous in the air.

That means the Gunners have scored 22 corners in only 52 games – just in the Premier League alone – which is quite some record.

Ruben Amorim even has a theory that Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli play to win corners rather than to score goals themselves during matches.

When you are as effective as Arsenal are from this particular set-piece, that wouldn’t be a bad idea whatsoever.