“Make it daylight like it used to be!” Except it never was. And Arsene Wenger’s latest scheme is inadvertently showing us why it shouldn’t be.

Ah, the offside rule. Everyone’s favourite. Especially in this era of VAR where all we want to see is consistency, common-sense, or some mythical combination of the two that is yet to actually manifest itself into being.

One of the biggest gripes fans have had with VAR – and there are many – is its over-precision with the offside rule. Lines on screens. Toenails. You get the picture.

Wenger’s bright idea is to make sure there is clear daylight between the attacker and the last defender before offside is ruled. In theory, for the former Arsenal manager and current FIFA Chief of Global Football Development, that means advantage to the attackers and more goals being given.

The reality? Well, that could change the game as we know it. And not necessarily for the better. Get ready to be infuriated in new ways over what is and isn’t offside.

Let’s head over to the Canadian Premier League, where they’re trialling Wenger’s daylight rule this year.

The first goal awarded under the new regulations, that previously wouldn’t have been, was scored in April. And now, there’s been another sure to raise contention. Feast your eyes on this.

The "daylight" offside rule in full effect in the Canadian Premier League.

Tomasz Skublak scores an equaliser for Inter Toronto against Vancouver FC in the seventh minute of stoppage time. pic.twitter.com/gAAkfLTTEZ

— Dale Johnson (@DaleJohnsonBBC) September 24, 2026

He’s just offside, isn’t he? Look at the second angle on the replay. Can’t be having that as a goal now, can we? In Wenger’s world, we can.

It’s a perfect illustration of how things would change if this whole daylight idea was implemented worldwide. VAR wouldn’t have even needed to get the lines out to deem that offside everywhere else doing things the normal way.

And the poster of the clip in question, BBC Football Issues Correspondent Dale Johnson, raises another valid point in the comments. There was an average of 3.00 goals per game in the Canadian Premier League last season; it’s 2.99 this season. Virtually no difference has been made, and if you’re interested in the fractions, it’s gone the opposite way to what was intended.

Those most concerned about the daylight model suggest it could have an inverse effect and lead to defenders sitting deeper to reduce the risk of playing someone onside that would previously have been off. It’s too early to say if that would really happen, but it’s a valid concern, especially if it undoes the intention behind the tweak to the rule.

And so the jury remains out on whether daylight is worth persisting with in the delicate world of offsides. As with anything VAR, it won’t end debates – just create new ones.

Oh, nearly forgot – some finish that was, by the way. *Googles Tomasz Skublak*

READ MORE: Ranking Arsene Wenger’s six maddest ideas to revolutionise football: Offsides, World Cup…

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