Arsenal: Rob Holding loan best for everyone

Rob Holding has slipped down the pecking order at Arsenal with the arrival of Sokratis and development of Calum Chambers and Konstantinos Mavropanos. A loan move seems like the best for everyone involved.

The Arsenal centre-half position is a funny old one this summer. For many, it was the biggest issue of the team last season and was the biggest priority to address in the window. There was great cause for holding such a stance. But then, when you look at the number of players, there is a different argument to make.

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Even with the retirement of Per Mertesacker, who becomes the Head of Academy as announced last summer, the Gunners still boast six viable centre-half options, three of which are accomplished, experienced options, three of which are young, hungry and talented prospects.

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Six players at a position that only requires two starting at one time is more than enough. Some teams carry as few as four through a whole season. It is difficult to see how Arsenal will need all six of those centre-halves bar an almighty injury crisis that is almost foolish to plan for such is the rarity and extremity of its occurrence.  As such, it makes sense to allow one of the younger players to leave on loan. That, for me, should be Rob Holding.

Holding seems to be the sixth-choice defender at this point in time. Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis and an injured Laurent Koscielny are the experienced starters, while Calum Chambers is pushing them hard and also competing for a starting role. The only other candidate that a loan would make sense for is Konstantinos Mavropanos.

But in half a season since his January arrival, Mavropanos was able to usurp Holding towards the closing few games of the season, making three successive Premier League starts as Arsene Wenger rotated through his squad to rest others for the prioritised Europa League campaign.

And Wenger was not the man who signed Mavropanos. He even stated that the Greek defender would go out on loan when he first arrived, only to go back on that just a week later. With Wenger now gone and those who were endeared to Mavropanos now holding more power at the club, it is sensible to presume that Holding is still seen as a worse prospect.

As Mavropanos can still be used as the fifth-choice centre-back in the squad. There will be some minutes available for him. But I do not expect those minutes to extend to Holding. So why not loan him out? Why not give him a regular starting role at a lower Premier League or even Championship club to allow him to continue his development?

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It just makes sense. For Holding, for Arsenal, who should reap the rewards when he returns, and for Mavropanos, who will not lose any more minutes. Everyone wins, and that’s rare in football.