Ex-Arsenal star urges Mikel Arteta to keep hold of defender

Arsenal will look to rebuild their team in this transfer window with Mikel Arteta looking to sell some of his players and bring in exciting new defenders.

The Gunners managed to end last season on a positive note after Arteta helped them win the FA Cup.

Wins against the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City were enough to convince the club that if they back the Spaniard, he will bring the glory days back to the Emirates.

One position that has remained the club’s Achilles heel so far has been their defence and they are taking serious steps to address that in this transfer window.

They have brought back William Saliba from his loan spell at Saint Etienne and they will complete the signing of Gabriel from Lille soon.

These players will join the likes of Pablo Mari and David Luiz in Arsenal’s defence. The club is also expected to sell some defenders, including Rob Holding, but Nigel Winterburn believes that the Englishman still has something to offer and he should be kept on among those that will be sold.

‘I think there’ll be more than one of them going, because Arsenal have got a host of centre-halves and it may come down to which players are going to be limited in appearances going forward,’ Winterburn said as quoted by the Metro.

‘Age may come in to it too – all of those players will be looking at the situation and wondering how often they’re going to be playing and what their chances of being a first choice are. 

‘And if not, are they happy to sit on the bench and wait for opportunities? The one player out of the four that I think might be worth holding on to is Rob Holding. 

‘Up until his injury I would have said he was Arsenal’s most consistent defender, but he’s struggled to get back to full fitness and get that consistency back.

‘I don’t know whether there’s a slight doubt that he’s going to ever get that consistency back, but before his injury he’s the one centre-half I felt was able to offer that. 

‘So it would be a bit of a surprise if Holding was to leave, but then you have to consider Arsenal’s financial situation. 

‘They might feel as though he’s the one they might be able to get the most money for, so in terms of the club trying to balance the books it might be a good option for them to sell. 

‘But with the amount of games Arsenal are going to be playing next season it makes sense to retain at least two of them.’

Tags Rob Holding

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