Former Arsenal chief's major rule change which will affect Man City and Manchester United

Former Arsenal co-owner David Dein is in talks with football's governing bodies over the introduction of a 'timekeeper' and altering the length of halves.

Dein claims he has received the backing of PGMOL head Howard Webb for his controversial idea to change matches from 45-minute halves to 30-minute periods. While this would technically reduce the game to 60 minutes, the 81-year-old's radical idea is to introduce a timekeeper who would stop play to avoid 'wasted time'.

According to Dein, this would effectively increase the amount of football played during the course of the match as it would eradicate lost minutes for injuries, VAR checks and other stoppages. Wasted time was a big talking point last month after Manchester City's 2-2 draw with Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium.

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The Gunners were accused of practising the 'dark arts' during the draw as several players stopped play to gain treatment for cramps. Under Dein's proposal, this tactic would be rendered useless as the clock would stop while the player received treatment.

Discussing his idea on talkSPORT's Sunday Edition, Dein explained the concept originated from Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson's behaviour on the touchlines. "This is nothing new. This dates back, I think, to Fergie time, when Fergie would always be haranguing the fourth official and tapping his watch, wanting to know how much time was left," he said.

"I've asked all the referees in the Premier League, several years ago, when the fourth official puts up two minutes, three minutes, four minutes, are you accurate to