Arsenal: Rob Holding contract wonderfully defies recent failures

Arsenal are in talks with Rob Holding over a new contract. If he signs, it wonderfully defies the recent contractual failures of Arsene Wenger and the club.

Arsenal have been crippled by the mismanagement of players’ contracts. It has been an issue that has repeatedly seen them lose their more established stars as a result of relinquishing any semblance of power or control at the negotiating table.

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The names of key departures roll off the tongue in depressing fashion. Samir Nasri, Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy, Robin van Persie. All left because their contracts were allowed to wind down and they were then in a position to dictate their wages and their standing at the club, something that Arsene Wenger was unwilling to match.

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And the same shortcoming of dealing with contracts is coming back to bite Arsenal this summer. Much has been made of the precarious situation that both Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez find themselves in with just one more year remaining on their current deals. However, there are far more key contributors who are set to enter their final year of their contract without a renewal.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlian, Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere. None have certain futures beyond this summer. That is why the rumours suggesting that talks with Rob Holding regarding a new long-term deal, just one year after acquiring him for £2 million, are so uncharacteristic, so promising and so significant.

After years and years of trailing behind the efficiency of Chelsea and Manchester City, Arsenal are showing that they are seemingly learning from their mistakes. In the closing stages of the season, Holding displayed the natural talent and mental astuteness that have led many to believe that he is set to be an established star in the Premier League for many years to come.

It is certainly a sentiment that I ascribe to having watched a lot of him in the Gunners’ starting line-up. Sensible, then, to try and lock down the long-term future of someone many believe is destined for stardom. It is something that seemingly anyone would think is a wise move to make.

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But Wenger, for so long, has been painfully hesitant to secure the futures of his star players. Maybe, just maybe, he is beginning to learn his lesson. The potential signing of Holding to a new contract would be a wonderful display of defiance to past failures.