According to The Times, Arsenal star Rob Holding is likely to be made available for a transfer this summer.
The Gunners are looking for a new centre-half and Ben White is reportedly on top of Mikel Arteta’s wish list. Edu is locked in negotiations with Brighton, and if The Guardian is to be believed, we should complete this deal very soon.
Ben White could end Rob Holding’s Arsenal career
Arsenal will then have six first-team central defenders. Gabriel Magalhaes, Pablo Mari, Calum Chambers, Holding and William Saliba are all options for Arteta, and White’s addition just makes it one or even two centre-backs too many.
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As a result, Arsenal will have to offload a defender and Holding is set to be the one to go.
The Englishman was close to leaving Arsenal last summer for Newcastle United. However, a fantastic performance in the Community Shield changed Arteta’s mind, and he blocked the move.
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Holding, labelled as ‘incredible‘ by Arteta, stayed put and the defender had a fairly good campaign. His performances earned him a new contract just five months ago, which makes it a shock to know that Arsenal could sell him now.
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White is a home-grown Englishman and his arrival fills that quota up. If Arsenal have to get rid of a centre-back, it’ll either have to be Holding or Chambers, and keeping hold of the latter makes more sense.
Chambers is hugely versatile and he was one of our best players in the final few games of last season. The former Saints man’s transfer value is also likely to be a lot lesser than Holding’s, which will also play a part.
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In an ideal world, Holding deserves to stay after a very impressive campaign. However, Arsenal cannot go into a new season with six senior centre-halves, and the Englishman, sadly, is the likeliest to be sacrificed.
