Arsenal: Would a Rob Holding loan deal be beneficial?

Arsenal’s transfer priority is ostensibly being placed on central defence. Further incomings perhaps indicate a loan deal for Rob Holding. But would this be beneficial?

The short career of Rob Holding at Arsenal has been a peculiar one. The defender was signed for change from Bolton Wanderers and not much was expected of him, despite promising signs in Bolton’s relegation from the Championship.

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During his first season, Holding was given a baptism of fire against Liverpool on the opening day in the 2016/17 season. While certainly not the worst culprit that day, Wenger decided to take him out of the firing line for the first half of the season, limiting the then 20-year-old to sporadic appearances in secondary competitions.

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In the second half of the season, however, Holding was afforded more opportunities and displayed a maturity beyond his years. This culminated in his best performance in an Arsenal shirt: the FA Cup final. With Arsenal’s defenders dropping like flies prior to the final, Holding delivered a battling performance alongside Per Mertesacker, producing a stalwart performance in an unlikely victory.

This was meant to be the start of a successful period for Holding. With fans comparing him to Fabio Cannavaro and Tony Adams, expectations should have been more tempered. But his potential was there for all to see. Yet, if his first season exceeded expectations, his second season was a disappointment.

Despite being given opportunities in the Europa League, the fact that Holding could not fight his way into the starting XI of a shambolic defense tells its own story. By the end of the 2017/18 season, he was not only usurped by his fellow Englishman Calum Chambers, but also by January signing and formerly unknown commodity, Konstantinos Mavrapanos.

Despite signing a new contract and the retirement and long-term injury of Mertesacker and Koscielny respectively, Holding is still fourth-choice center-back at the club. This would provide him with enough game time in a season where Arsenal are competing in four competitions, but the current transfer strategy that the club seems to be employing could spell trouble for the Englishman’s opportunities.

The impending arrival of Sokratis Papastathopoulos from Borussia Dortmund pushes Holding further down the pecking order. But it also looks likely that Arsenal may even add another centre-back, with strong links to Freiburg defender Caglar Soyuncu. This could potentially leave Holding as sixth-choice. Not good for his development.

This represents a problem for both Arsenal and Holding. But selling him would be a hasty decision. Despite his drop in form, there is a still a talented defender to be nurtured. This leaves the option of a loan deal, which, I believe, would represent the most logical and beneficial next step.

A loan to a lower-tier Premier League club, or even a higher-tier Championship side, would challenge Holding and provide a taste of playing week-in-week-out in a physical division. You only have to look at Chambers’ loan at Middlesbrough in 2016/17. While certainly not becoming a top-class center-back, Chambers still developed and improved during his season on loan and is now much the better for it.

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To conclude, a loan for Holding next season would benefit all parties involved. Should two center-backs be signed this window, I believe it is a must to prevent Holding’s career from stagnating.