Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal Vs Chelsea: Rob Holding the most important player

By Andrew Dowdeswell

BOLTON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 30: Arsenal's Rob Holding (r)looks on during the Checkatrade Trophy group match between Bolton Wanderers and Everton under-23s at Macron Stadium on August 30, 2016 in Bolton, England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
BOLTON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 30: Arsenal's Rob Holding (r)looks on during the Checkatrade Trophy group match between Bolton Wanderers and Everton under-23s at Macron Stadium on August 30, 2016 in Bolton, England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images) /
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Arsenal face a defensive crisis ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup final against Chelsea. Suddenly, Rob Holding is the most important player on the pitch.

The FA Cup final is here. With it comes the unique chance to win a trophy. While the two competitors, Arsenal and Chelsea, are teams who expect trophies on a regular basis, with the ever increasing competition at the top of the Premier League, such expectations are spurned more often than not.

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The Gunners, for example, endured just short of a decade without a trophy of any form, before winning two FA Cups in succession in 2014 and 2015. They now have the chance to add their recent haul, making it three FA Cup victories in just four years, matching the same run they enjoyed from 2002 through to 2005.

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However, not only must they beat the Premier League champions on Saturday, but they must do so in the face of a defensive crisis. The win to end the league season last weekend against Everton came at a rather hefty price. A untimed Laurent Koscielny tackle saw him see red for his misguided actions, meaning that he will miss the final through suspension, while Gabriel Paulista picked up a knee injury in the second half that will result in him missing the next six to eight weeks of action.

Add to this the uncertainty surrounding Shkodran Mustafi and his concussion and sickness, that kept him out of the win over Everton and training this week, and suddenly, it is clear to see that Arsene Wenger has a serious problem within his defensive ranks.

It is Rob Holding who will be thrust into the limelight as the most accomplished of Arsenal’s central defenders. If Wenger does continue with the 3-4-3 system that has served him well of late, then it could well be Holding, a make-shift Nacho Monreal and a hardly-played Per Mertesacker as the three centre-halves.

The young defender most certainly has the talent and the temperament to handle the increased responsibility.  However, the pressure to be thrust with such a role in the starting line-up at the tender of age of 21 in a game as important as the FA Cup final is immense.

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If Wenger is forced to start Holding as the anchor of his defence, then his asking a whole lot of him. The question of whether he can step up to the plate or not may be the determining one in who ultimately lifts the trophy.