Mikel Arteta has spoken highly of Rob Holding, insisting the centre-half is a valuable member of the squad, after his recent struggles with injury.
The 24 year old suffered a cruciate ligament rupture at Old Trafford in December 2018, and although he made his first team comeback in September, another more minor knee problem saw him miss a further two months.
He played the FA Cup third round against Leeds, and looked rusty on the night, but the Arsenal boss is sure that once he regains full fitness he’ll pushing the more established centre-halves for place in the side.
“He is a very interesting player, very focused, very determined, very willing to learn,” said Arteta of Holding.
“Obviously the fact he has been out for such a long time, he is lacking competition now and lacking that rhythm. We need to try to give him as much as possible to help him.
“There were some moments that he looked really, really good. He is a player that is going to be very valuable for us.”
The Gunners defensive depth has been tested with the injuries to Holding, and latterly to Calum Chambers who suffered the same ACL rupture as his great friend.
The club have moved to address that, and it’s expected that the signing of Spaniard Pablo Mari from Flamengo will be made official inside the next 24 hours.
Holding out for a hero
Just testing …
Yes
yarp
Holding was finding some really solid form then ACL. Chambers was finding some really solid form then ACL…dam!
Holding is our best defender by a country mile !! He will partner Salib next season and what a pairing !!
sure
That little floating icon makes it tempting for one to comment
I hope this is the team for tonight
Martinez, AMN, Holding, Mustafi, Saka, Guendouzi, Willock, Ceballos, Ozil, Nketiah, Lacazette
Oh yes. If i was qualified to be darth vader. I’m not. Makes me realise im not qualified to be a Pl manager and so is nobody on this site. Nonetheless good “fan engagement” feature from blogs.
This is a test comment. Hope the site keeps Holding on.
Is it just me or Arteta seems to strike the perfect note in every press conference, since taking over at The Emirates? “within this one, a long future I see”
I agree. And, although every manager is supposed to say positive things about his players and most usually do unless they have lost the team (Mourinho), I hear something more than the usual manager-speak from Arteta. Maybe I’m just hearing what I want, but for me he has all the makings of a great man-manager.
Yes
Holding has a huge future, if we keep him fit I think he’ll be playing for the national side. Seems to be a leader not afraid to be vocal…
The new UI looks crisp and amazingly done. One small issue I noticed was the margins on the left for the names and the comments. This is on Android. The text looks like it’s tightly hugging the left edge of the screen. Maybe something like a margin of 16dp might solve it?
Same “issue” on mine (android).
Ooh er, so it does. Looks nice though, very “reddit-y”
Rob has every chance to become our leading Central Defender in the future. Hopefully all the injuries are behind him already!
It’s so refreshing, everything Mikel says is positive and makes sense, it’s a pleasure listening to his post match interviews and pressers.
Hey just adding a comment on the new design, loving it but finding the text a bit light in colour, a little hard to read, but might just be my monitor.
‘another more minor knee problem saw him miss a further two months.’
Yes, a two month knee injury is ‘more’ minor than an ACL injury. But most people would never associate ‘minor’ with either. Are we back to the old days of incompetent rehab treatments?
Er… Blogs doing everything to make sure Arteta isn’t too far ahead on plaudits? ? Nevertheless, great efforts! Long may the innovations continue!
come on holdini
There was no issue with his fitness.
I think he was showing too much ‘ring rust’ against Leeds which is why the preference was for Mustafi.
Simple.
BUT long term, we need to play Holding.
On a general note, I believe we all realize that EPL football has and is experiencing many changes. These changes effect all of us fans but do we really understand how and why? I am not linking here as I do not know if that is allowed. I will tell you where to find an article that really seemed to explain some of what we are experiencing. The article in on Goal, written by Alex Kebel and titled Arteta, Morinho and Lampard Need Excruciating Patience in this New Age of the Super Club. Blogs, I hope it is ok to… Read more »
Hi Arseblog! Hi Gooners! Hi Holding! (in case he drops by) (test comment)