Premier League Bans Towels to Dry Ball, Arsenal Affected

The Premier League has banned players from all clubs in the competition from using towels to dry the ball during matches, effective from the start of this season, a change that strikes directly at Arsenal, last season's champions, who used the practice frequently throughout that title-winning season.

Until last season, the practice was only allowed by mutual agreement between both teams; without that consent, the referee could block it. That is how Arsenal used it during their title run, particularly before the long throw-ins taken by Ben White and Declan Rice, who used to dry the ball thoroughly before each delivery.