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Arsenal: Rob Holding should get more game time
By Rory Picton
Rob Holding should get more game time because of his recent performances at Arsenal. He put in quite the performance against West Ham.
Rob Holding has had quite the interesting year, winning back-to-back cups against Chelsea, and yet he’s not the first defender on the team sheet. Arsenal’s makeshift back-three is made up of a left back and a senior with Achilles problems.
Yet he’s left on the bench. He should be the first name on there. Against West Ham he allowed only one shot on target and that was a wayward free kick from a mile out. He was calm and composed when in possession and he timed his tackles to perfection. If he was in the starting XI versus Manchester United, maybe he wouldn’t have made the mistake that Shkodran Mustafi made.
He is part of our English core and he needs to mature properly, so either we use him or loan him out. Look at how Calum Chambers turned out after his loan move to Middlesbrough last season
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He came back to us and has impressed on many occasions. His performance along side Holding just goes to show you that Arsene Wenger needs to utilize the pairing more often.
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I would like to see them alongside each other in a back four with Mathieu Debuchy and Sead Kolasinac on the flanks. I think they’d freshen up our back line and maybe give the fans something to think about after Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker retires.
Holding needs to get the game time in now. Maybe a loan in January to a team like Burnley or Huddersfield because both need defenders. David Wagner and Sean Dyche could really teach him about defending, because their sides defend so well.
It’s not just Holding. We need to utilize our younger talents. Arsene Wenger has already utilized Ainsley Maitland-Niles at left back and it has worked out really well. So why not keep that momentum going with a little youthful invigoration?
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Maybe against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup we will see more of these two. They both deserve to play. Can we expect more minutes? Only time and consistency will tell.