Arsenal: Rob Holding Offers Peek At The Future
Rob Holding and Shkodran Mustafi were excellent on Saturday, offering a peek into Arsenal’s future at centre-half with Laurent Koscielny ageing.
As the fallout from the five-goal demolition of Southampton continues, much of the media attention has focused on the devastating attacking display of the Gunners. Arsenal were certainly magnificent in the final third, ruthless in front of goal and intricate with their passing in and around the penalty area.
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However, while it was a wonderful display, the defensive solidarity was also a key piece of the five-goal jigsaw. Despite Southampton playing a weakened side – which when drawing conclusions from the game should be factored in – the centre-half pairing of Rob Holding and Shkodran Mustafi were formidable.
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Holding, in particular, as a 21-year-old youngster showed wonderful composure and calmness when defending. He was accurate with his distribution, aware of his positioning throughout and astute in his communication with his partner, with David Ospina between the sticks and with the rest of his teammates.
Although Southampton offered little in an attacking sense, Arsenal were defensively sound, giving little space in their own defensive third, sounding out attacks with relative ease. It was a promising display and now gives us a peek at the future of the Gunners’ defence, especially at centre-half, a position that has been historically weak under Arsene Wenger thanks to a combination of subpar personnel and open, attacking approaches.
The stalwart in recent seasons has been Laurent Koscielny. The Frenchman has a blend of physical traits, both in possessing sufficient pace to handle the faster-twitch strikers and the strength and aerial ability to cope with the powerful onslaughts that the Premier League brings. However, he is now the wrong side of 30 and although he is having his best season yet since moving to North London, plans for life without Arsenal’s captain must be made quickly.
Significant, then, is the performance of Holding and Mustafi together on Saturday. The two complimented each other’s game well, showed an adept understanding of one another and built a solid foundation for a prosperous future together.
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Moreover, with Holding only 21 and Mustafi himself turns 25 in April. Both have many years ahead of them, both have vast talent and potential and both have the games to play well alongside the other. The win over Southampton may well have given us a peek at the future of centre-half partnerships in North London.