UEFA deputy general secretary Giorgio Marchetti has confirmed the organisation are considering two major changes after calls from Europe’s top coaches this week.

The 20th UEFA Elite Club Coaches Forum took place in Nyon on Tuesday, with plenty of big names in attendance. Arsenal’s Unai Emery joined former boss Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Massimiliano Allegri, Thomas Tuchel and more at the event.

Afterwards, Marchetti confirmed some of the rules and regulations the coaches wanted changing. Firstly, they called for an end to the away goals rule:

“The coaches think that scoring goals away is not as difficult as it was in the past,” Marchetti said. “They think the rule should be reviewed and that’s what we will do.”

That’s welcome news for football fans, and particularly Arsenal fans. The rule encouraged teams to sit back and defend in front of their own fans, and killed numerous ties with a single goal. The Gunners know the pain of away goal exits all too well.

The other major change was related to the transfer window. Marchetti relayed the wishes of the coaches for more countries to follow England and Italy, closing the window before the start of the season.

“The coaches are of an opinion that there should be a unified window and the window should close before the competition starts,” he said. “The idea would be to try and bring them into line.”

Again, this would be a very welcome change. There’s no advantage for English teams having the Spanish window open an extra three weeks after theirs closes, and a Europe-wide deadline would seemingly suit everyone.

Let’s hope UEFA can turn their talk into action and get these changes implemented as soon as possible. There’s no real reason why they couldn’t be in place for next season.