Arsenal: Rob Holding injury doesn’t require a transfer… yet

Rob Holding’s injury comes as quite a setback for this burgeoning Arsenal defense, but that doesn’t mean we need to go forking out money.

Seeing a player like Rob Holding grow so much through the years, and then find his footing under Unai Emery, only to be cut down for 6-9 months with an ACL rupture is a tough scenario to stomach. Arsenal were relying on the young man to continue in his development, and now that has to be put off until next season.

Let’s be clear about one thing though, and I’ve said this before, but I must say it again – This is not a crisis. It’s not even a defensive crisis. It’s not a crisis whatsoever, beyond the obvious emotional crisis of seeing Holding shut down for the year.

And it doesn’t prompt an immediate reaction of spending in the January transfer market. Not even close. Let’s all take a deep breath. And not just because we all know that Stan Kroenke is not big on spending money.

While Holding’s injury comes at a poor time in the season, just as we are heading into the tight December schedule, there are options galore around him that, while they may seem desperate, can stem the flow.

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For instance, both Nacho Monreal and Stephan Lichtsteiner can play as a left- and right-sided centerback, respectively. Meanwhile, Laurent Koscielny is on the brink of a return and Konstantinos Mavropanos is going to be back, hopefully to full action, before the January window.

Then there is Zech Medley, the up-and-coming left-footed centerback who played his first half-hour in the first team, and did quite well with what little time he was given.

The point is, I understand that the first impulse is to panic. Hell, I was right there, saying that we only had three healthy centerbacks and three positions needing filled. But again, just because one of the three goes down doesn’t mean the schematic is blown up and it doesn’t mean we need to overpay for a mediocre centerback in January.

If you are one of the people that believe that we needed a new centerback with or without Holding, that’s a different story, but the injury itself does not prompt an immediate investment.

The options are still here. I’d hate to see the club invest in something in a fit of panic when there were other ways around it. Of course, those that are in charge are smart enough not to do that, so it’s all good.