Referees have been instructed to punish grappling at corners this season, with penalties now on the table for defenders who hold an opponent with both arms or wrestle him off the ball. Few players are better placed to judge whether that is workable than Richard Dunne, who spent the best part of 15 years defending set pieces at the highest level.
His verdict is that the clampdown is overdue.
"I think it's good, actually. It's certainly gone over the top in recent years. There's been too much of it," Dunne told Flashscore on behalf of OLBG. "Back when I played, I don't think it was as rife as it is now. I'm watching defenders and they don't even look at the ball. They don't even look where it's coming in from."
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For Dunne, the change would force defenders back towards the basics of the job rather than away from them.
"If it makes defenders defend, it's better. You should be able to go and attack the ball. You don't need to be concentrating completely on holding on to people all the time."
The bigger question, he suggests, is whether officials hold their nerve once the season settles into its rhythm.
"I'm pleased if the referees do clamp down on it, but I've heard that so often and it never seems to come true. It just seems to wither away as the season goes on, and we end up back at square one."
City have picked up where Guardiola left off
Former captain Dunne knows how quickly the mood can turn at Manchester City, and he admits he expected a difficult transition into the new era after Pep Guardiola's departure. But four wins from four under Enzo Maresca, including one in the Manchester derby, have forced him to revise that.
"My thoughts when Pep left were that it would be a struggle this season. I didn't think they'd be able to challenge for the title so quickly," he said. "The amount of players that have changed and come into the club, a new manager with a new voice and new ideas, changes like that normally take a bit of time to settle. But they've been brilliant. I think they can now go on and challenge for the title and challenge Arsenal," he told Flashscore on behalf of OLBG.
What convinced him was not the results but the response to Phil Foden's sending off on Sunday, with City digging in after going down to ten men.
"At the moment, it looks like nothing's changed. They've just continued on from where Pep left. They all look settled, and on Sunday they all worked so hard going down to ten men. It's really positive signs at the start of the season. My only concern would be when they get a little blip, where there are two or three games they don't win, and how everyone reacts around that."
Even so, Dunne has already upgraded his expectations.
"My aim for them would have been that they finish in the top four, but having seen them for four or five games this season, I think they've got a real good chance of challenging Arsenal for the title."
Villa sold the spine of the team
Three months after winning a European trophy, Aston Villa have begun the campaign without a win or a goal, having lost half of the side that started the Europa League final.
"I don't really understand the whole situation at Villa," Dunne says of another of his former clubs. "They seem to sell players for big money but are always in deficit in terms of their transfer dealings. It's a really strange scenario they've got themselves into, in terms of the money that goes out and comes in, but they don't seem to be able to spend it an awful lot of the time."
He believes the club were within touching distance of something far better.
"I think Aston Villa were very close to being in a position where they could have been Arsenal's biggest challengers this season. But instead of adding to the quality they had, they sold the whole spine of the team. That does set them back quite a bit. It'll be difficult to replicate what they did last season in the league, and obviously the Champions League is important to them as well, in terms of trying to recoup some funds and put themselves in a position to build again."
Dunne believes that Unai Emery should get the full season to put things right.
"He certainly does. Emery is as good as anyone. He knows the league inside out, he knows his squad inside out, he knows how to get the best out of them. He built a really good Villa side previously, and he's in the process of doing it again."
"Similar to last season, they've started off pretty poorly and it took them a little bit of time to get going. It might take a little bit longer this season, but I certainly think they will. I think they'll have a good season, but probably not top four like they were last year."
