Unai Emery is not offering Arsenal’s Rob Holding any guarantees over his position in his central defensive ‘pecking order’, according to a report by the Daily Mail.
The Arsenal defender has been out since December 2018 after suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury in the 2-2 draw away to Manchester United (via BBC).
The Daily Mail are also reporting that figures at the club’s training ground are not convinced by the team’s attempts to play out of the back.
The 23-year-old has been featuring in a number of under-23 fixtures this season, most recently playing last Saturday as the young guns beat Leicester City under-23s 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium (via Islington Gazette).
Holding would provide a massive boost to the side if he can return to action in the Europa League on Thursday. The duo of Sokratis and David Luiz have proved to be car crashes so far this season, and their mistakes at Watford showed how they can’t be relied on (via The Metro).
On the other side of things, prior to his injury at Old Trafford, Holding was unbeaten in every single game he featured for Arsenal last season. The 23-year-old played 16 games, winning 12 and drawing four as he formed part of the backline that went 22 games unbeaten in the 2018/2019 campaign.
His calm demeanour in Arsenal’s backline was evident last season, as he averaged the third-least amount of fouls per game in the Premier League in the squad (via WhoScored). This point is further strengthened by his lack of yellow cards, getting none across his 10 appearances (via Transfermarkt). His towering figure also proved to be useful as he won 2.1 aerial duels per game in the top flight last term, the third-most in Arsenal’s squad.
Holding surely has to be a starter once he is fully fit again, especially given how rash Luiz has shown he is in his four Premier League appearances for the club (via Give Me Sport). The former Bolton player has shown he has both the defensive qualities and the calm head to marshal what has been a very poor backline.
Arsenal fans, how badly has Holding been missed? Join the discussion by commenting below!
