Arsenal: Rob Holding nightmare will end before you know it

Arsenal have finally welcomed Rob Holding back to the team, but just like last time, he looks… awful. Nightmarish. It’ll end soon.

I was so excited to see Rob Holding back in the starting XI against Leeds. Arsenal have just lost Calum Chambers for the season, which is a massive blow, and Holding can slide right into the void that Chambers left behind. Hence the excitement.

But then the match started and, just like last time he came back earlier this year… he was awful. His passing was all over the place, his decision making was poor, his defense was average. My excitement quickly changed into complete and utter terror that he would pull a Mustafi and blow the game all on his own.

This year has been a nightmare. After starting last year fantastically, he was stricken with a very similar injury to what Chambers has now (yikes) and he just hasn’t been able to get back into form this year. Far from it.

But don’t fear. The same way that nightmares pass when you wake up, so too will this… when we all wake up.

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The good news is simple—we don’t need Holding right now. David Luiz and Sokratis are doing a fantastic job all of a sudden, and Holding can settle in, shake out the nerves, get back into his regular self. He’s got time.

Besides, like I always say any time an injury interrupts a player this badly—that talent isn’t just gone. There was a time when we were all building the future of the defense around Rob Holding. This is the same Holding. He’s just spent months out due to numerous injuries and we have to give him time to get back into it. Every player handles injuries differently. For Aaron Ramsey, he always took time to get back into form. It was always a struggle.

Jack Wilshere always seemed to snap back into form pretty quickly, so did Laurent Koscielny. Holding may just be more of a Ramsey type, who needs to sort himself out, sort out a trust with his own body before he gets back into the form that we’re still quite familiar with.

Just give it time. There’s no reason to panic. Holding will be back to his best by the end of the year, barring any further interruptions, with with the help of William Saliba, Calum Chambers and *cough* Dayot Upamecano *cough* this defense will be set for another decade.