Stop the action: Wenger calls for time-outs to study TV replays

St Andrew's has never been the most hospitable of stadiums. You get the feeling that the faithful would jeer their own reserves if they lined up against the first team. So, one can only begin to imagine the hostility accorded Ashley Cole this afternoon when Birmingham City confront Arsenal. Blues memories tend to be long, but it will only require a brief journey back to the opening day of the season at Highbury for their followers to recall that it was the Arsenal full-back who was responsible for the dismissal of City's Aliou Cissé.

The Senegal midfielder, already cautioned, appeared to leave a foot in on Cole after the England man cleared the ball and the referee, Mike Riley, brandished a further yellow, and a red. However, the official subsequently rescinded the second caution when TV evidence demonstrated that any contact was minimal.

Yet, had Arsène Wenger's proposal for a radical use of TV replays been in force Cissé might well have remained on the pitch. "I would give every manager the right, twice in a game, to ask for an immediate video review of an incident," said the Arsenal manager. "I'm talking about goal decisions, for example, basically those in the penalty area."

However, it is quite conceivable that, if such a system was in place, his Birmingham counterpart Steve Bruce might have used his "stop the action" card to challenge that sending-off, an action which could have correspondingly led to the official finding Cole guilty of "simulation".

It is a fascinating proposal, one similar to an American Football team calling "time- out", though in association football, you suspect, it would be one fraught with difficulties. As Wenger concedes himself: "It could also be used as a tactical asset for the manager." In other words, it could be employed by one team to halt the game on a spurious basis, merely to stop the flow of a game if their rivals were in the ascendancy.

As a rule, Wenger is not averse to the use of post-match scrutiny of videos. "I think that it is useful to fight against violence – if it involves everybody and if the FA make the rules and decisions and not Sky," he said. "But sometimes you feel that because you're on TV you are more under pressure to be punished because any incident is seen five times on replay, while in other games people can get away with it."

That opening game was Birmingham's first back among the élite and though Arsenal won 2-0 Bruce's team will be a different one now, in both senses, following the acquisition of four players: Christophe Dugarry, Jamie Clapham, Stephen Clemence and Ferdinand Coly.

Wenger might have been a potential purchaser himself for the World Cup performer Dugarry, and the Arsenal manager said of his compatriot: "I could have signed him without any problem but I have [Robert] Pires who plays in the same position, or [Freddie] Ljungberg. He [Dugarry] is a top-class player and it's marvellous that he has gone to Birmingham. He's good enough to make an immediate impact."

The Gunners will be wary of the Frenchman, but at least they will not be troubled by the suspended Clinton Morrison, who has revealed recently that he would like to play for Arsenal. "I like his quality very much, he's mobile and gets behind the defenders," Wenger said of the former Crystal Palace striker. "He looks to have that confidence that allows him to cope with a big-club pressure. He has the qualities, but at the moment I don't need anybody. I have Thierry Henry in that position."

Wenger added: "I expect a tough battle, because they want our scalp and they are fighting to survive. Birmingham are under even more financial pressure to be safe now because they have made those four signings."

After wins for Manchester United and Chelsea yesterday, the championship favourites require a victory to restore a five-point advantage over their nearest pursuers, alongside whom Wenger still numbers Newcastle and Liverpool as potential challengers.

"I don't rule Chelsea out because they have a good number of home games remaining," he explained, "and I said before Christmas that Newcastle were contenders – and I was right. Liverpool? Well, there is a question mark about them. We will have to see how they do in the next month. But you cannot rule them completely out."

Arsenal return to the League after their FA Cup victory over Oxford United, with controversy still surrounding the venue for their fourth- round tie against Farnborough. It was put to Wenger that if he were a neutral he would favour the tie being staged where it was originally intended, Town's Cherrywood Road ground. Many would contend that transferring the tie to Highbury on what appear to be primarily mercenary reasons is contrary to the whole ethos of the competition.

"Even as a non-neutral I'd have loved to have played at Farnborough," said Wenger. "But the decision has been made for safety and security reasons. Who cannot accept the decision if it's really based on that? If it's for financial reasons, it's very sad. I believe that, even in we played at Farnborough, we would win the game, although obviously we would feel more comfortable playing at Highbury."