Arsenal: Have Faith In Rob Holding Transfer

This is just what Arsenal does. With big names galore on the market, Wenger is chasing a 20 year old from Bolton. But we should have faith in this young man.

Sometimes, Wenger’s frugality drives us absolutely batty. It’s sad that, having seen Kostas Manolas’ price tag, we immediately dismissed Arsenal from the running. Wenger would never pay that much for a defender.

Still, that frugality has the potential to unearth some gems. And I’m not talking about Yaya Sanogo.

Wenger has never spent big on defenders, but he had the intelligence to land Hector Bellerin and it’s not like Laurent Koscielny or Nacho Monreal were big name guys either. You aren’t just born a viable Arsenal player. You have to start somewhere. Even Mesut Ozil started his career buried in the German fourth tier. Hard to believe right?

Everyone starts somewhere, and Wenger is a manager who likes to pluck these guys right as they are ripening. I believe that was the plan for Calum Chambers, but for whatever reason, he just hasn’t progressed as Wenger expected.

That leads us to Rob Holding.

In no way is Rob Holding who we wanted to see coming to Arsenal for defensive reinforcement. We wanted big, well-known tanks like Mats Hummels. But Rob Holding isn’t devoid of talent. The only reason he is portrayed so negatively is because yet again, Arsenal are looking to try to sneak past the issues rather than beat them over the head like a game of whack-a-mole.

Holding is a very talented young man. Just 20 years of age, he is showing tremendous forward-thinking when it comes to defending. His interception and clearance rates are way up there, even for the Championship and he has athleticism that allows him to double up as a right back.

I know, it’s sounding more and more like Calum Chambers with each sentence.

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But we have to have faith. Chambers showed tremendous promise too. The man shut down Leicester City’s prominent attackers in one-on-one situations when he was forced into the game following Koscielny’s exit. That’s a big deal.

Holding could be ready to blossom. Clearly Bolton think so, as, according to reports, they have rebuffed an Arsenal and a Bournemouth bid.

Now, Arsenal are readying up a £2.5m bid for the young Englishman. It may not be a big amount of money, but money is not always an indicator of value. Sol Campbell was free after all.

We have to have faith. It’s all we can do. Wenger has justified shrewd signings like this in the past. If he is the defensive reinforcements, then clearly Wenger sees him as a viable option. He could also just be future reinforcement (something else Arsenal needs on defense) with more on the way for the present.

(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /

Whatever the case, Wenger will always give his guys a chance before he goes off and replaces them and we have to realize that signing a big time defender for big time bucks would completely shield off Gabriel Paulista until the time comes that Koscielny moves on. It defeats the entire purpose of purchasing the Brazilian two January’s ago. It also defeats Gabriel, who will see his path to Arsenal completely stifled.

Holding doesn’t do that. He has the versatility to shift around at the back, the talent to hold a role down, but also the room for learning that will allow Gabriel to confidently compete.

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It’s a win no matter how you spin it, and Chambers still can be too. Arsenal’s defense is getting older and there aren’t many guys in the system that can turn that trend around. Holding can, and Chambers can too.

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