Former Arsenal man now sharing lessons learned from iconic Wenger duo at new club

Add as preferred source on Google

Former Arsenal defender Rob Holding is trying to bring the benefit of his experience to Crystal Palace.

Rob Holding left Arsenal in the recent summer transfer window, joining fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace in a deal worth £4 million on deadline day.

Prior to this departure, the centre-back had been at the Emirates Stadium since 2016. In total, Holding made 162 appearances for the north London club, and won two FA Cups in his time at the club, starting in both finals.

Whilst he was never able to make himself a regular starter for a long period, Holding was a useful and well-liked player at Arsenal. Under Arsene Wenger, Unai Emery, and Mikel Arteta, the 28-year-old was also given the chance work alongside some top-class fellow defenders.

Some of the standout centre-backs that Holding played alongside in his time at Arsenal include Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker, and William Saliba, amongst others.

For a long time, whilst Wenger was still at the helm for the north London club, Koscielny and Mertesacker enjoyed a well-established and reliable partnership in the heart of the Arsenal rearguard. Both were loved by the fans and brought the best out of each other.

Holding certainly learned a lot from working with these two former Gunners, and is now looking to pass that knowledge on.

Holding looking to emulate Arsenal ‘leaders’

Speaking to TalkSport, the defender said, “I’ve got a lot of experience, 28 years old now and they’ve got quite a young team at Palace, they’ve got some young lads coming through.”

“Any little things that I’ve picked up from my time at Arsenal when I first stepped into the changing room and you had the likes of Mertesacker and Koscielny, they are just leaders. If I can take any bits that I got from them and pass them onto the lads that are a bit younger at Palace now, then I can do that.”

Whilst Koscielny left the club in rather acrimonious fashion in 2019, Mertesacker still has a role at Arsenal. The 104-cap former Germany international heads up the club’s academy system and works closely with Arteta to try and bring the Gunners’ most talented youth prospects through into the first team.

For his part, Holding will be hoping to get some regular first team football for Crystal Palace at some stage soon.