Premier League 2025/26: Key Rule Changes Every Arsenal Fan Should Know

With the Premiership season kicking off this weekend I thought now would be a good time to point out some rule changes that some fans might not be aware of.Every year certain people in a position of power have to justify their salaries so come up with little tweaks for the sport.Often officials implement these […] The post Premier League 2025/26: Key Rule Changes Every Arsenal Fan Should Know appeared first on Just Arsenal News.

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Premier League 2025/26: Key Rule Changes Every Arsenal Fan Should Know

With the Premiership season kicking off this weekend I thought now would be a good time to point out some rule changes that some fans might not be aware of.
Every year certain people in a position of power have to justify their salaries so come up with little tweaks for the sport.
Often officials implement these laws for a few weeks before it fizzles out.
Yet I think it is fair to say between Mikel Arteta and certain Gooners, Arsenal love a conspiracy theory.
So I need to stress that if you see a ref make a decision that you have not seen before, that is because new laws have been introduced. The actual myth is that it would take the Gunners by surprise.
While some in the stands or at home might not know about these alterations, all of our players and coaching staff are up to date.
Each pre season the 20 squads in the division are briefed for the following campaign.

Keeper – 8 Second Rule

This heavily concerns David Raya because let us be honest he is one of the worst or best at time wasting.
When holding the ball, the keeper will have 8 seconds to release it. If he goes over that time the opposition will be awarded a corner.
I saw this implemented in the Club World Cup and now we just need to see if officials will be brave enough to implement this consistently.
The issue is when is this most likely to happen?
In the final stages of games when defending a narrow lead.
Wait for the first stoppage time goal to be scored because of this and listen to the cries of agenda.
Again, all goalkeepers have been told about that change so will only have themselves to blame if they concede because of it.

Raya v Crystal Palace — (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Harsher On Shirt Holding Or Pulling

I will be honest if there is one rule change that might last a few weeks and then be quietly forgotten about it will be this one.
Officials have been told to get more strict if they witness pulling and pushing at set pieces.
Players therefore have been warned this will be watched.
So again, no one can act shocked if they get punished for something they once got away with.
The issue is even with the benefit of VAR, how many refs are brave enough to call what they see?
This has been going on for decades.
Years ago zero tolerance could have been demanded where a penalty was awarded every time a shirt was pulled. That would have stopped it.
Trying to change that in 2025 is ambitious.
Like the handball rule there seems to be a lack of clarity about what is shirt pulling.
So they still have room to hide behind.

Captains Only

This was meant to be dealt with years ago because it is a bad habit that has started to creep back into the sport.
In the late 90s and early 00s teams, particularly Man United, were guilty of surrounding officials.
It was agreed by all parties that during a game only the captain would approach the ref.
With that request being increasingly ignored it has not just been repeated to all teams, it has been made clear that anyone speaking or disrespecting officials without permission will get a yellow card.
The only slight change is if a keeper is the one wearing the armband he can pick a teammate to represent him to converse with the official.

If You Kick A Penalty Twice

UEFA were forced to clarify this law after Alvarez slipped taking a penalty in the Champions League last 16.
The Argentine slipped in the shoot out, accidentally kicking the ball twice.
Not only did the conversion not count but it counted as a miss.
Under the new rules if that happens again, the player will at least get the chance to retake it, unless they have not scored.
This happened to the Lionesses in the Final of the Euros.

Semi Automated Offside

This should simply speed up the process when VAR want to check if a player was offside or not. At the grounds that have the capability to do so, the images will be shown on the big screen.
Automated offside flags were at the Club World Cup but will not be used in the Prem.
So you will still have to wait for an attack to conclude before a flag goes up.

Ref Cam

Trialled at the Club World Cup, the Prem will give it a go in the first couple of months and then decide if it is here to stay.
In other words they will see if the likes of Sky think it makes any difference to their coverage.
Let us be honest having officials wearing cameras is purely for entertainment.
Fans will not have access to live footage though and anything shown is at the broadcaster’s discretion.

VAR Decisions Announced

This has been done in quite a few competitions in the last couple of years but never in the Prem.
If the official is told by VAR to look at his or her monitor or to reconsider a decision there will be a live announcement of what or why the call has been made.
It is pointless as all a live crowd care about is if their team have benefitted.
If they have not, justified or not, they are booing whatever is said.

What do you think, Gooners – which of these rule changes will have the biggest impact on Arsenal’s season?

Dan Smith

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