Rob Holding: Stuck between a rock and a hard place

Rob Holding is stuck between a rock and a hard place, and I mean that in every sense of the word.

The English centre-back came into the Arsenal starting 11 after William Saliba suffered a back injury against Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League.

Rob Holding: Stuck between a rock and a hard place

Here are three reasons why Holding is in a weird position at Arsenal.

1. Actual positioning on the pitch

Rob Holding came into the side and performed brilliantly at the beginning.

Unfortunately, the teams’ form began to dip with three straight draws against Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton before a heartbreaking thrashing at the Etihad. Too often, Rob Holding has been caught following his man into midfield and playing too tight on the attacker. Last season against Tottenham, in which Arsenal conceded three goals, it was Holding who got a red card for this precise reason.

This season he has failed to adopt a new defensive strategy which most adequate strikers have taken advantage of. Against West Ham, Michail Antonio looked like Erling Haaland, who could’ve scored a bucket load against the Gunners.

Holding’s positioning on the pitch leaves him and the likes of Gabriel, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Ben White between a rock and a hard place.

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