Martin Keown has praised the summer signing of Rob Holding, whilst claiming his arrival may have scuppered Calum Chambers hopes of an Arsenal career.
The 20 year-old arrived in a £2.5 Million deal from Bolton Wanderers this summer, and following a number of injuries shortly before the beginning of the season, was forced to go straight into the first-team line-up against Liverpool.
His new side went onto lose that match 4-3, but he was not blamed as being central to the result, and has since shown he is more than competent in defence with two impressive displays alongside Laurent Koscielny.
Martin Keown has now moved to praise the new Arsenal boy, whilst being extra-critical of his team-mate Chambers, who has since left on loan.
Keown said: “Holding looks like a good acquisition because they’ve only paid £2.5m for him and he looks solid,” Keown told FourFourTwo.
“But I just feel that when you’re a central defender in that position, it’s like goalkeepers – do we play young goalkeepers, do we play young central defenders?
“As soon as it goes wrong there’s suddenly a lot of pressure being put on those individuals.
“Holding handled it well in the first match, thrown in at the deep end.
“You expect Chambers to have coped better because he’d been around longer, and maybe that’s why they’ve shipped him out. Maybe they feel he hasn’t developed.”
It will be interesting to see whether Holding retains his place in the starting line-up against Southampton on Saturday, or whether new signing Shkodran Mustafi will displace him from his role.
The 20 year-old was a close second in our club’s Vitality Arsenal Player of the Month award for August, and could well be given one more start while his new German team-mate gets settled into his new surroundings and players.
Does Holding deserve to keep hold of his place on current form? Is he still deemed a risk? And will Chambers be able to get back on the upward curve
Pat J