London, Jan 23 (IANS): English Premier League club Arsenal's coach Arsene Wenger has said work permit regulations for non-European Union(EU) footballers to be discarded as he believes the rule is a hindrance for team's in signing talented players.

The Frenchman is keen to sign defender Gabriel Paulista from Spanish club Villarreal but the Great Britain's Home Office is yet to approve the move since the 24-year-old has not represented Brazil in the international level yet.

Wenger also criticised proposals of having lesser number of non-EU passport holders in the league next season.

"Ideally it would open completely, and anyone could come in," he was quoted as saying by bbc.com Friday.

Currently, the work permit rule requires non-EU passport holders to be represent their country at an international level from a country ranked within Fifa's top 70 and should play at least 75 percent of their country's international matches in the last two years.

Wenger believed cutting down on foreigners over such issues would kill the attractiveness of the league, however, it could help produce good local players too.

"You could close completely the borders of the country and play only with English players. What will that do? That will kill the attractiveness of the Premier League worldwide.

The second option is to say 'look we have the best league in the world, so let's produce the best players in the world,'” he reasoned.

"One thing is for sure, if you put a young player with top level players, he has more chance to develop. If you put him with average players he has more chance to remain average," he added.