Rob Holding has signed a new long-term contract, Arsenal confirmed today.
Already under contract until 2023, the 25-year-old has been rewarded for his impressive performance this season and will pocket a pay rise that better aligns him with his peers at the Emirates. The new contract runs until 2024, with an option for a further year.
Signed by Arsene Wenger from Bolton Wanderers for £2 million in 2016, the centre-back has made 96 appearances for the Gunners winning two FA Cup medals along the way.
It’s not been all plain sailing since making his surprise move; his form waxed and waned in his first couple of seasons and he’s also had to battle back from a bad ACL injury.
It was widely reported that Holding had considered leaving Arsenal in the summer but he’s since become a mainstay in Mikel Arteta’s first team.
Speaking about the new deal, the boss said, “We all know Rob’s quality, which he has shown in his displays during the intense moments of those two FA Cup final victories.
“We are all very happy that Rob has signed a new contract, he is very popular with all the players and staff, and we’re looking forward to watching him continue to grow with us in the coming years.”
Congratulations to Rob, here’s to success in the years ahead.
Better than cannavaro.
Who voted this down?
Cannavaro
Maybe people take things to literally?
You win the internet.
From 3 different browsers!
Cannavaro’s mum
Cannavaro’s mum, dad and grandpa
3 downvotes: Paolo, Fabio and Robert Samuel Cannavaro.
There’s only three Cannavaros.
Great news. Massively underrated. Would we have spent 50 mio for him, everybody would say what a fantastic addition he is. But so I hear a lot of “he’s a good squad player” nonsense. #SolidAsARob
Coming into his best years too, being very good in the first place.
Said it before, him and Gabriel could be the first choice cb’s for at least the next 5 years.
I’ll have some of whatever you’re smoking.,..
Holding is a solid enough player, and seems like a good character.
He’s not a £50million footballer
We’d be lucky to get £10-£15mill for him
Holding being our first choice centre back, just highlights how poor our other 7 other centre half’s are.
That’s not a dig at Holding, it’s just the reality of the quality of our current squad
Which really isn’t very good.
Your reasoning is not rich. The fee Rob would command is irrelevant.
Price tags are overrated anyway.
We paid £72m for a guy who has been benched by an academy graduate who didn’t cost a dime.
Rob has grown to a dependable defender over the years. He may not catch the eye – just like Monreal – but he goes about his job with minimum fuss.
I am happy for him.
I like this spin. Taking the average, we only spent 36m on Pepe. I feel a little less bad now 😀
Glass half full 😀
Arsenal comments sections, shouldn’t be a popularity contest They should be a common sense and pragmatism contest. Nothing I’ve seen from Rob Holding suggests he’s anything other than a bang average centre half. He’s slow He’s average in the air He’s not particularly powerful His passing is tidy enough, but provides little penetration He was at fault for Diego Costa’s equaliser in 2017 in the FA cup, but that was erased from history, because history is written by the victors Are people just trying to put a positive spin on this? Or do they actually believe Holding is good enough… Read more »
not sure i agree with Rich but 50m feels random. he’s had a few good games, which is great, always liked him, but people were fine with him leaving on loan and his start to the season wasn’t overly convincing either.
would people have downvoted this four games ago?
55 mio is the amount City payed for Stones in the same transfer window. That’s why Wenger brought up that figure and that’s what I was referring to. Wouldn’t swap Rob for Stones as I think he’s the better cb.
As far as I can see he is better than Maguire and I can’t think of a better English central defender. Yes if he continues as he is doing he will be worth a great deal, not that we should sell him. Have you actually watched Mari and Gabriel who have been excellent and even Luiz has been playing well. I’m not sure why you are belittling all our central defenders
Martin Sorry if I don’t take your word for it, your narrative about pretty much everything has been wrong for as long as I can remember. Luiz is a liability, you never know what side of the bed he’s going to get out of, set a record last season for penalties conceded, loves a red card, has an attention span of a goldfish, and very questionable temperament On his day he’s great, and provides penetration from the back, but a leopard rarely changes it’s spots, he’s a liability. Holding is he very definition of average, that’s nothing personal, he’s fine… Read more »
Fully agree, he’s a great backup defender and we should keep him for that reason. He came up big for us in two FA Cup finals and seems to have a real affinity for the club. I don’t know why this is so downvoted. It’s possible to truly like a player and their attitude while being realistic about their ceiling. If we had Gabriel and a top right sided CB then Holding, Saliba, and 1 more to cover would be perfect. Holding’s not going to bring us to the promised land, but he can while playing a key role in… Read more »
Everybody is a 50 million pound player these days. Unfortunately it’s not a compliment any more. Nor is it a put-down.
Just glad for Rob .. in terms of playing profile..he is very much like Bould…who was underrated and under appreciated and do not get as much credit as Adams and Keown. Not the complete player yet …but he is a credit to himself and a big plus for the club.
Undecided on this. He has been good for the past few games, but thought he was not very good against Everton against a good striker. Hope he improves and becomes a great player but also hope this does not mean the end of Saliba.
We’ve also seen him keep Diego Costa and Mane in his pocket in crucial games
Usually seems to turn up in the big games
He has lost 3 out of 16 games against big 6 sides. I don’t know if anyone in this squad has a better or even a similar statistic in such games.
Fair enough. I just don’t think he is at a level of a starting Centre back right now for a top four side.
That…. Doesn’t make sense.
I don’t think he is the guy to take us and keep us in top four which is what we need.
Unfortunately, it will require more that the input from one central defender to keep us in touch with the top 4. If only…
No one player can do that. The last I checked, good team are made up of eleven players.
If Arsenal fail to make top 4, Rob won’t be the reason.
Arteta’s persistence with the geriatric Willian will be more of a reason I suspect.
Unfortunately, we’re not a top 4 side at the moment, but seen enough of him, Gabrial and Mari to think we’ve got three decent CBs to get us there.
I thought he looked very poor earlier this season (misjudged balls in the air, unconvincing clearances, not positionally astute enough to compensate for his lack of pace), but it’s now apparent that was largely a question of match fitness. He’s been very good. (On the Diego Costa issue, I’ve said this before–if you rewatch that match, you’ll be impressed by Holding’s attitude and spirit, but you won’t think he got the better of Costa; that was Mertesacker one hundred percent.)
Very poor analysis I must say. For a guy who’s played 96 games, and faced some of the best strikers in that period, to be judged by one game is quite poor.
Who is this good striker? Is it the one season wonder who relied on a heavy deflection to score a goal that was later changed to an own goal?
Its strange that your main concern is saving the unproven 18 yr old cb who has never played for arsenal, rather than the player who has played nearly a 100 games and contributed to two fa cup trophies.
Nice one. Believe he can develop into one of our first choice centre
-backs, or failing that at least a very solid backup.
He already is one of our first choice centre backs.
4 down votes for this 😂 oh to be an Arsenal fan.
Stop the count
I’m pleased! He’s knuckled down and worked really hard. He’ll never be out of the very top drawer of centre-halves, but rarely lets us down.
I can’t think of a better English central defender. Vastly better than Maguire and hopefully will get an England call up.
Let’s not damn him with faint praise
Two points: even if he were the best English central defender, why would that matter in a league full of players from all over the world? Second, as much as I hate to say it, if you have watched Man City this season, Stones is much better than Holding, and I like Tarkowski better too.
All this ‘he’ll never be out of the very top drawer of centre halves’… based on what? I suspect there’d a lot less of that sort of faint praise if he was expensive and foreign.
At 25, he’s already shown a great deal more than most centre backs his age, despite a long term injury and inconsistent game time. I think there’s every chance of him proving to be a top class defender.
Great news. Have always rated him. Always quietly surprised whenever fans underrate him. Now go and be a great player for us at the very least.
I’ve always been loudly surprised whenever fans underrated him. I wear my past downvotes like a badge of honour. Now it’s time for Chambers to come good too, perhaps if we get big money in for Hector.
Wise to only add another year, we wouldn’t want to over commit for excessive years at a time on players contracts now would we?
I suspect the club option for the 24/25 season is at a significant pay bump. Club will have a decision to renegotiate again next year to extend further, likely paying that higher wage in 23/24 and possibly 22/23 seasons, too. If all goes well, that is.
If the club reckons he isn’t worth the option year, then it will hope to sell him Summer 2022. After that, the club may have to option him for the final year, which probably makes it marginally harder to get the player to agree to move but otherwise risks a Bowman.
Well, we’ll have to see how things go financially before thinking too much about wage increases for anyone in the coming years. For a start, we’ll have to consider how to repay the £120 million we’ve just borrowed to help fill in the Covid blackhole in the balance sheet. Football finances generally, and ours of course, will take quite a while to recover fully from the losses that the pandemic has brought.
Rumours are that he was on less than Runarsson. That is an absolute joke for a player with nearly 100 appearances over 4 years. He deserves this, and it gives the club insurance if they decide to sell in the future.
Congratulations to Holding. The fact that he came back strongly from that lethal Rashford challenge demonstrates success and diligence on his part. Hoping for many more solid years from him at Arsenal.
Yep determination is one of his positives. One of the Arsenal nutritionists said that Rob asked for a complete revamp of his diet regimen around his rehabilitation period.
Definitely seems like one of the more serious guys we have in this team.
Good player. Passing has improved last few days (according to my eyesight test)
Games*
One of our own Rob is❤
How do these contracts work? He had a contract till 2023. He has now signed another till 2024…so basically he has added just one more year to his current contract…
His wages have changed for better. Also there are probably new bonuses and conditions as the one mentioned of the option to extend at his last year. So it’s not only the extension, but the qualitative change in terms.
English in the post-Brexit, in-COVID world. Won 2 trophies with Arsenal. Massively good, but underrated. Young, yet to get into his prime, and has a decent record against big teams Will soon be joined by the likes of Ballard, i.e. more homegrown talent. I wonder whether the idea of what Saliba that may be, makes Arsenal fans disregard what we have with Holdinginho. The vitriol aimed his way for this renewal is disappointing and distasteful. Probably was way underpaid, and this contract extension has brought some degree of parity. As Arsene said, You should be happy; he is English, he is 20… Read more »
He’s certainly showed the right spirit in ploughing on under often difficult circumstances. Whether we’ll ever get to see what Saliba may be is a question though given the way we’ve handled him since his transfer. Indeed, reports suggest that he was out permanently, which is hardly surprising all things considered.
Frankly, the total 100 million outlay between Saliba and Pepe didn’t make sense. Mind, I am not saying they aren’t good players, that is for others to judge. But was either of them worth what they cost us?
Arsenal had a great player-then-manager removed for financial irregularities. I wonder whether that wasn’t the case here. Don Raul?
Carry on. Nothing to see here.
ROB HOLLLLLDING YOU KNOOOOOOOW
He is better than Cannavaro!!!!!!
Wonderful! Brick shithouses are toppling all over the land
😂😂😂😂😂😂 Traore doesn’t know whether he’s playing in the NFL or EPL
Lol. Might I add, You have a most excellent nickname good sir. Very tops
Lots of delusional, or high as a kite Arsenal fans.
Nothing against Holding, but we’ve just renewed a contract of a player who’s average at best.
He might well be the best of a really bad set of current options, but that doesn’t make him good option.
Hopefully he kicks on from here, and shoves my words back down my throat.
Wenger bought him for 2 million. People who are quick to critisize Wenger should also remember all the great buys he made.
Cazorla for £10m
Monreal for £8.5m
Giroud for £10m
Rosicky for £9m
Koscielny for £8m
Wenger never stopped being one of the greatest managers who ever lived, and I hope large numbers of Arsenal supporters have the good sense to be embarrassed about their treatment of him, now that it’s clear to see how much he was keeping us afloat even at the end.
I’m sorry he didn’t cost £50 millions!
Good for him. That’s how one earns a new contract. Well done 👍
£2mil in 2016! Bargain
Yes, that’s true. If only Mustafi, for example, had been a similar bargain at £35 million. You can’t win ’em all though – but it’s good to see we can win at least occasionally.
Habari from Kenya
Let’s build from the back
COYG
A player with character. Moulded and shaped by the fine Per Merrtesacker himself.
Technically he has some positives and negative’s to his game. I think it is his mental side and leadership which has earnt him his new deal.
Physically he isn’t the quickest and can get turned. If we plan to continue with doubles pivots then he should be fine. He can get pressured in possession sometimes.
I like his aggression and threat at set pieces. Can mislay a pass but can also help break a press
His technical side is the not the greatest, but is improving (Laca goal against Brighton). His one on one defending though has improved a lot this season and is massively underrated.
Congrats, Rob
As a bald man, I’m just happy to finally have some representation in the team (given 2 years at the current rate of Holdings shedding.) This is my bald brothers black panther moment. I welcome the news. He is stable, seems humble and gives his all. He can be a bit inconsistent but there is a good player in there and I’d definitely say he is now worth a lot more than the 2 million paid for him.
Lma😂. It seems everyone has forgotten Lacazette has lost most of his hair too.
Kolasinac too 😂
Im the bald warrior sidekick of Conan the Barbarian and i approve of this.
Fantastic news. Never in any doubt to this lad’s talent and his leadership skills. He can push on and cement his place – and the strong possibility of becoming an Arsenal great. I spent most of the summer on this page defending him (no pun intended) whilst many a numpty wrote him off – in favour of that well known practitioner of hilarious defensive chaos, Shkodran Mustafi. The same Mustafi whose clownish antics were still costing us points last season after the first lockdown (Tottenham away, Brighton away, Chelsea away, Leicester at home). Finally, we are ridding ourselves of him… Read more »