Arsenal: Arsene Wenger owes just as much to Rob Holding

Arsenal youngster Rob Holding is indebted to Arsene Wenger for the opportunity he now has, but Wenger is just as indebted to the young Englishman.

You hear it all the time – a young player speaks so fondly of his manager because that manager gave him a big chance on a big club. You also hear it at Arsenal rather frequently. Both Alex Iwobi and Hector Bellerin have said similar statements, thanking Arsene Wenger for the opportunity to prove that they were worth it, even while the club was competing against the best in the world.

Rob Holding fits into that mold too. The young Englishman was about to be relegated to League 1 with Bolton when Wenger snapped him up for £2m, a fee that left many discounting his immediate ability.

Many were even clamoring that this was a “typical” Arsene Wenger solution to a complex problem. The defense was in shambles, so he went and spent minimal money on a young prospect.

Of course, he later added Shkodran Mustafi, effectively shutting everyone up, but as we came to learn, the club probably would have been just fine with Holding as the solution. Because he has proven to be every bit of first-team quality. So much so that I take every opportunity I can to point out how he is already better than the £50m man, John ‘Pebbles’ Stones.

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Therefore, yes, Holding owes Wenger, because Holding was discovered by Wenger and is now on the international spectrum. Or if not, he is incredibly close.

But this scenario goes both ways. Wenger loves to buy young players and parade them as solutions. It doesn’t always work, look at Yaya Sanogo, for instance. But when it does work, like it did with Rob Holding, it is entirely justified and probably gives Wenger confidence to go do it again.

I bring this up because now that young Nigerian striker Henry Onyekuru has been signed for £6.8m, Arsenal supporters are saying “hey, if Rob Holding worked, why not this next guy?”

And that has to feel good to Arsene Wenger. His transfer activity has been criticized since the Emirates began construction. His slick little signings just weren’t working anymore. Now that one has, supporters are optimistic that Wenger still has a good deal of transfer magic up his sleeve.

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We all know that the Gunners could seriously use a new striker this summer, but we also know that the options are going to be incredibly limited without Champions League football. So wouldn’t it be something if Onyekuru was enough to fix the problems up front?

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