Arsenal were the much better side yesterday when they hosted Tottenham at The Emirates. Unai Emery’s side shone in the match and there were a number of star performers for the Gunners. one of those was Rob Holding, the young defender did a great job to nullify the likes of Harry Kane and Dele Alli and whilst he won’t get the glory for the win, he certainly deserves a lot of praise.
So proud of Rob Holding today. He has come a long way. This is his first ever NLD and he had a really solid game overall. His ‘foul’ on Son was definitely not a penalty. His distribution and playing out from the back is very underrated. Proud to have always backed him.
— LTArsenal (@ltarsenal) 2 December 2018
Holding was sublime in almost every aspect of the game and whilst the penalty he gave away for a supposed foul on Heung-Min Son was a clear blot on his record, the fans are prepared to let that one go as they don’t believe Mike Dean was correct to be pointing to the spot. Instead, the fans are more focused on Holding’s distribution, calmness and solidity at the back as he helped his side grind out a memorable victory.
It was in fact, Holding’s North London derby debut and he didn’t disappoint, partnering up well with Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi in Unai Emery’s back three that he opted to go with against the Lilywhites. It truly was a sublime display from the youngster and the supporters will be keen to see him put in more performances like that in the coming weeks, especially for their next game against Manchester United on Wednesday.
You can read the Gunners’ verdict on Holding’s derby display here:
His switches to bellerin during the first half to beat the press were beautiful
— Henry (@Henry_Nettle) December 2, 2018
He had the most passes today even. He doesnt disappoint in big games.
— Shogun (@GoonerThought) December 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/DiggensPeter/status/1069357609562636289
The guy is really good…wenger actually left talents for unai to refine…great strength and physical ,he can better than stones
— prince (@kunzlek) December 2, 2018
How much, £1.5 mil I think . Amazing buy
— BBC Ealing (@BEailing) 2 December 2018
It's not only about that. What really surprised me today was his calmness on the ball while being under pressure from Spurs players. I think Emery's arrival has helped him a lot in that respect.
— Noir Confidential (@Noir_Con) December 2, 2018
I'm with you here. I always believed in him. He's part of the furniture now. Top player.
— miyiwa (@muyij) December 2, 2018
The Gunners were delighted with Holding and will be keen to see him shine against United on Wednesday after a promising showing against Spurs.
