Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Rob was worth Holding on to
HE COULD HAVE GONE TO TOON BUT ARTETA RECKONS HE’S NOW ARSENAL CAPTAIN MATERIAL
MIKEL ARTETA has praised Rob Holding for the “incredible” way he has turned his Arsenal career aro around.
Hol ding ding, 25, almost joined Newcastle Ne on a season-lo season-long l oan last summer because b Arsenal had a wealth wea of centrehalves ahead ahea of him in the Emirates pe pecking order. But, six months later, Holding is one of the first names on the t teamsheet. He is a big bi personality in the dressing dressing-room and has even worn the captain’s armband when PierreEmerick Au Aubameyang has been absent. absen
It is a gr great story, harking back to Holding’s finest hour to da date when he was brought in as an emergency centre-half cen in the 2017 FA Cup final and ended up helping Arsenal lift the trophy.
Gunners boss Arteta says Holding’s biggest issue was injury – he suffered a serious knee in December 2018. And the Spaniard is full of admiration for the way he has fought his way back. Speaking ahead of this evening’s FA Cup clash against Newcastle, Arteta said: “It was almost a year ago when he came back from his injury and, when you compare how he has evolved from there to now, it is incredible.
“It is all down to him, how profes - sional he is, how much he wants to learn, how much he puts into every training session. He is growing in every aspect. I am really happy with him. It is true that in summer he came to me because we had a lot of central defenders and he was not sure about how many minutes he was going to have.
“But we stopped him going anywhere because we knew he was going to be an important player.”
Arsenal are not short of centre-backs – like David Luiz, Shkodran Mustafi and Pablo Mari (below). Calum Chambers is on his way back from injury while William Saliba was loaned out and Sokratis has not even made the squad.
But Holding is one of the most popular and likeable figures at the club.
He is honoured to play for Arsenal and is incredibly passionate – and that is why Arteta has looked to him to become one of his leaders.
Arteta added: “I really like what I see from him on a daily basis, and the room that he still has for improvement.
“It is true there have been many other conditions for him to play so many minutes because we have injuries, we have other issues, but he has earned that right.
“Nobody can question that when he has played, he has performed really well.”