Holding was an unused substitute during Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat to Tottenham away from home at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday evening.
Defensive mistakes saw the Gunners lose the North London derby despite taking the lead, and after the match, Arteta was asked why he did not include Holding in the starting lineup.
The 24-year-old central defender – who cost the Gunners £2 million in transfer fees when they signed him from Bolton Wanderers in the summer of 2016, as reported by BBC Sport – is now fully fit and has done well when he has been called into action this season.
Arteta said when asked why Holding did not play against Spurs, as quoted on Arsenal’s official website: “Sometimes it’s the position, sometimes it’s the momentum of the players, when we don’t concede in three or four games in a row everything is really positive.
“Obviously when you concede two goals like today… Why are we not playing someone else? Rob has done really well when we’ve demanded him to play and he will be ready to play when we demand him to do so I’m sure.”
Stats
According to WhoScored, Holding has made three starts and two substitute appearances in the Premier League, and has played thrice in the Europa League for Arsenal this season.
The defeat to Spurs means that Arsenal are now ninth in the Premier League table with 50 points from 35 matches and are unlikely to get into the Europa League places.
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