3 standout players from Europa League win against PSV

Arsenal’s perfect record in Europe this season continued with a win against PSV on Thursday evening.

Made to work for it, the Gunners eventually broke through in the second half with Granit Xhaka scoring the winner. This match and Arsenal’s underlying performance were much-needed.

After a rousing win at home to Liverpool, Arsenal looked flat against Bodo/Glimt and tired against Leeds. Performances dropped off sharply in their last two with the attack looking less potent and the team as a whole having less control of the game.

3 standout players from Europa League win against PSV

Faced with a tough opponent pushing for the title in the Eredivisie, Arsenal held PSV at arm’s length before scoring and walking away with all three points. Three players stood out on the day with impressive performances.

3. Rob Holding

We’ve seen a complete overhaul of the defence under Mikel Arteta. Ball-playing centre-backs and tactically astute full-backs have come into the team while poor and ageing players have left. One of the few players who has stayed from the previous regimes is none other than Rob Holding. Against PSV, Holding was outstanding.

Fans have been quick to point out his lack of quality. This, however, is largely down to the (understandable) excitement of Ben White, William Saliba and others and the inevitable comparisons. Admittedly, Holding is not at the level of his defensive counterparts. Yet he performs his role well.

He was tasked with being a proactive, progressive defender against the visiting Dutch side. He could not have performed his role better. He was front-footed, intercepting passes and quick to pressure PSV’s forwards when they dropped deep, giving them no time on the ball. He also passed the ball well. Although he took longer to pick out passes, he was able to ping several long balls into space for Saka and even had some line-breaking passes along the ground.

Holding has been an incredible servant to the club. While he may not play as much as he wants to and fans may want him to be phased out in future windows, his level and the improvements that have come to his game have been eye-catching. The ideal squad player indeed.

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