The Arsenal defender helped his side to earn a clean sheet against Leicester City
Arsenal’s Rob Holding has drawn praise from his manager
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has described the performance of young centre-back Rob Holding against Leicester City yesterday as ‘outstanding’ in an interview with Arsenal Player, suggesting his small transfer will stop him from earning the praise he in fact merits.
The former Bolton defender, who was picked up this summer for a paltry £2.5 million, looked solid alongside Laurent Koscielny at the King Power in a more resolute defensive display from the Gunners, a far cry from their shaky performance against Liverpool.
The Reds scored four at the Emirates last week, running out 4-3 winners, leading to greater demands from Arsenal fans for Wenger to sign a new centre-half.
Happy with Holding: Wenger
And whilst those calls remain, the Arsenal boss has chosen to praise the 20 year old Englishman, suggesting that without a large transfer fee, Holding won’t receive the praise he truly deserves.
“I think he [Holding] did remarkably well against top-class strikers today,” he told Arsenal Player. “For me he had an outstanding performance.
“He’s 20 years old, he’s English and it’s a great reason to be happy. As long as players don’t cost a huge amount of money, people don’t give them any qualities.
“We have to be stronger than that and just acknowledge how good he is. Koscielny added to our stability today and I’m very pleased with that.”
Is Holding the answer to Arsenal’s defensive woes?
Arsenal have in recent times been linked with a move for Valencia defender Skhodran Mustafi, with the Mirror reporting that a fee of £25.9 million has been agreed between the two clubs.
Nevertheless, there has been little sign of progress, but with Per Mertesacker sidelined until Christmas and Gabriel Paulista out for around six weeks, pressure will remain for Wenger to dip into his back pocket and spend big on much needed defensive reinforcements.
Mustafi has been linked with Arsenal
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