If I am passing someone else's half guard I commonly WANT my arm in side of it. It helps me make you lose your connection to my leg by introducing space. I keep wedging the arm in and setting up the "over / under" guard pass.
If you are playing half guard and you get this arm, you can squeeze and hold it for a minute to catch your breath and stall, but I wouldn't consider it a position with options. You have fewer choices there than they do. Unless they really fall asleep at the wheel here, they shouldn't be sweepable, if you try to open your half guard to search a submission they should be ahead in that race to escape and you can't hold it infinitely.
Keep playing with everything though.
Tons of people find their own unique games that others would consider "bad", and curiosity is the first step in motivation for that!