In an exclusive chat with Arsenal Insider, former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has discussed a possible rule change to tackle the issue of time wasting.
The Gunners have been victims and beneficiaries of running down the clock this season, with plenty of different tactics used to get to full-time with the desired result.
With Arsenal being as dominant as they are on the ball, there have been times when the opposition will simply frustrate and grind the momentum to a halt.
On the other hand, Mikel Arteta is no stranger to using some clever tactics to get his own side over the line in matches.
John Stones accused Arsenal of using the “dark arts” in recent seasons to get them closer to winning the Premier League title.
While time wasting is commonly used across all teams, former referee Mark Clattenburg discussed what rule changes he’d make to improve the game.
Mark Clattenburg suggests a rule change to combat football time wasting
Time wasting has often been a problem for any team when they’re looking to find their way back into a game.
For Arsenal, their inability to deal with low blocks has only been compounded by teams finding ways to eke out the remaining minutes of a match.
Meanwhile, the Gunners themselves have been accused of taking up too much time on corners in particular.
Speaking to Arsenal Insider about a possible rule change, former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg said: “I have always been a big supporter of making the game as exciting as possible, and one of the major impacts to this is the amount of time the ball is in play.
“Many people have said that if players time waste, then the clock should stop or the referee to add time on. This does not solve the major impact on the match as time wasting in the majority of cases disrupts the pattern of the game, especially when a team is on top and pressing for goals.
“I saw this first hand when the PSG goalkeeper went down injured during the first 20 minutes of the game for over two minutes of treatment, with Arsenal on top and creating many attacking opportunities. After this period, it’s allowed PSG to regroup, and this stopped Arsenal’s attacking opportunities.”
That led to talk of how time wasting could be curbed to help create a more free-flowing, exciting game of football.
“We will see next season that if a goalkeeper does not release the ball in 8 seconds, then it will result in a corner. I don’t believe this to be the biggest problem with time wasting in the game,” Clattenburg said on the changes to upcoming time wasting rules.
“The taking of corners, throw-ins and goal kicks are taking far longer, creating less playing time and more excitement and one area that could be changed is that if a player takes too long at a throw-in, then it’s given to the other team without a yellow card. If a goalkeeper takes too long at a goal kick, then a corner will be awarded, and if the attacking team takes too long at a corner, then a goal kick would be awarded. This will make the game more exciting and reduce unnecessary time wasting.”
While that rule change definitely would help Arsenal in terms of breaking down their stubborn opposition, it may not help when it comes to their own set-pieces.
Arsenal were slammed for how long they take on corners
While many of an Arsenal persuasion can complain about the opposition using tactics to delay the match and its momentum, the Gunners have come under fire for similar.
That has particularly been the case for set-pieces, with Gary Neville complaining about the time it takes for an Arsenal corner to happen.
The former Manchester United man said on Sky Sports back in September 2023: “I just asked how long that ball was in the corner for, and apparently it took 26 seconds to take that short corner, which is an absolute mountain of time.
“Particularly in this climate, with the referees trying to pick up on everything, but it worked. You saw Mikel Arteta and the coaching team start to celebrate because it’s worked, so they must’ve been working on it in training.”
It’s something that has continued into the 2024/25 season, with Declan Rice criticised for how long he takes for the corners.
It remains to be seen whether that sort of rule could end up being implemented, but it may be one that could hurt Arsenal as much as it could help them.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
