Gary Neville has been vocal about a Premier League rule change he'd like to see introduced, addressing the issue once more during Arsenal's emphatic victory over West Ham
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Gary Neville has made his feelings perfectly clear when it comes to substitutions
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Image: Sky Sports)
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Gary Neville dropped a subtle hint about a Premier League rule change he'd like to see during Arsenal's 5-2 thumping of West Ham.
Neville was on commentary for the clash at the London Stadium, which saw the Gunners race into a 5-2 lead before half-time. Goals from Gabriel, Leandro Trossard, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka gave Mikel Arteta's men the advantage, which they retained until full time.
It was in the second half that Neville alluded to his proposed rule change, requesting the introduction of rolling substitutions as he voiced his irritation over the sluggish pace of play. Both sides made full use of their five sub allowances in the capital - a now-regular occurrence in the top-flight.
Yet Neville found himself irked by the time consumed with each player switch.
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"The rhythm of the game just gets broken with all these subs," griped Neville as the likes of Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus joined the fray after the break, with Arsenal comfortably ahead.
In preparation for the 2022/23 season, the league had boosted the allowable subs from three to five but decided to confine those five changes to just three occasions throughout the match, reports the Express. The two teams took additional chances to swap players during the interval, which saw Gabriel make way for Jakub Kiwior and Crysensio Summerville replaced by Edson Alvarez.
Rolling substitutes, which are commonplace in some sports, allows players to come and go throughout a match, generally during stoppages, allowing for ongoing gameplay without interruptions. Neville previously proposed the idea on his podcast, The Overlap.
Each team made five substitutions at the London Stadium
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Image:
(Image: Getty))
"Let the fourth official manage substitutions so that the game doesn't have to stop, and you can just run on and off," he said. "So basically, (Martin) Odegaard's coming on for (Leandro) Trossard, the fourth official's there, he gets a message to Trossard, 'you're off' and Trossard comes off."
Arsenal legend Ian Wright backed Neville's innovative suggestion, highlighting how having the fourth official "could put the board up while the game's going on" could streamline play. Ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher isn't fully sold on the idea, however, pointing out a potential flaw. He said:"You (a player on the pitch) wouldn't look at the bench, would you? ! ".
In May, the KNVB discussed the concept of 'flying substitutions' which resemble Nevilles thought process. However, there's no sign yet that this change will be taking off in the near future.
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