Arsenal: Unai Emery thinks one way about Rob Holding

Unai Emery has praised Rob Holding upon his return to training and hinted at him becoming one of his five Arsenal captains. If you doubted what the Spaniard thought of the young defender, there is little reason to now.

When Unai Emery inherited the Arsenal squad last summer, one of the crucial positions that he had to form his opinions on was centre-back. There were obviously concerns in the defence given the record of the team under Arsene Wenger, but there was also young talent that needed to be nurtured, namely, Calum Chambers, Dinos Mavropanos and Rob Holding.

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No one really knew what Emery would think of these players. But as his first summer unfolded, it became clear. Chambers was handed a new long-term contract and then sent out on loan, Mavropanos continued to recover from his injury and was seen as a prospective young player who was not quite ready for the first team, while Holding was thrust into the rotation as the third-choice fit central defender to start the year.

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And a year later, after Chambers was named Fulham’s Player of the Season, but mostly for his performances in central midfield, Mavropanos struggled greatly with injuries, and Holding showed terrific promise before it was cut down thanks to tearing his ACL, it is the former Bolton defender who is still leading Emery’s thinking.

Speaking this week about Holding, Emery said:

"“We are really happy with his [Rob Holding’s] progress. We need his performances as a centre back. (Before) he had his injury he was really playing with big performances.”"

And this was not the only Holding-inspired comment Emery had this week. When discussing possible captains, he also heavily hinted that Holding could be one of the five players that the Spaniard likes to have in the squad:

"“I want one English player in these five captains. Last year [Granit] Xhaka, Mesut [Ozil] and Nacho [Monreal] were working as captains. But after Aaron Ramsey and Petr Cech left – and possibly Laurent Koscielny – I will want more. An English player who grew up in our academy can understand the English spirit and Arsenal values.”"

Bar the young players coming through from the academy, the only English players in the squad are Holding, Chambers, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and an unwanted Carl Jenkinson. Of those, the only genuine candidate to be considered one of Emery’s famous five captain options.

Whether Holding is ready for such a role, I am not so sure, but irrespective of his preparedness, what this does tell us is that Emery thinks extremely highly of the young defender and sees him very much as a first-team centre-back, potentially ready to take over from wantaway Laurent Koscielny.

If you had any doubts that Holding would not be used extensively this season, think again. Emery only has one way of thinking about the 23-year-old, and it is positive.