Arsenal: Rob Holding the prodigal son of new direction

Arsenal have a lot of moving pieces, and Rob Holding may be getting lost in the shuffle, but he is pushing back in the perfect way.

Arsenal have had a diverse array of problems over the past decade or so, but if you were to ask me (and I imagine a lot of others) what the primary problem has been, it’s been the attitude problem. The lack of a spine, the lack of demanding more from themselves and standing up for themselves.

That’s one all-encompassing problem, by the way. Complete and utter weakness and a lack of wanting to do anything about it.

Changing that has to be a priority and that starts with personnel. Naturally it takes a bit to settle in, but Rob Holding looks to be the prodigal son of this new chapter in the Arsenal evolution saga. He has taken his relative fall from grace as a means to challenge himself, demand more and express his personality as a player.

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And we have someone to thank for development aspect of things – Jens Lehmann.

"Jens has been a big difference since he’s come in. He’s very demanding and not afraid to get down and dirty with you – he’ll get at you and I’ll have a little snap back."

He went on:

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"There’s no grudges held and it’s what I think is the key to getting the best out of me. You’re more aggressive and more demanding as a consequence and that’s what I need to be as a centre-half."

Holding showed glimpses of who he was when he first arrived and, gradually, we’ve come to understand him more for who he is as a mental warrior on the pitch. We first saw it against Diego Costa and have since seen similar against other strikers as well – this ability to get under the skin of the opposition and make them uncomfortable the nearer they are to him and, by extension, to the goal.

Arsenal have not been this type of club over the past decade, not by a long-shot. But with Lehmann preaching this long-lost principle and Rob Holding already a player cut of that cloth, we may yet have the new beacon of hope that the Gunners can be a “tough” team yet again. I don’t know about you, but that is immensely refreshing.

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Holding is one of three young centerbacks we have that are developing this gritty mentality, but he may well be developing them the best.