Arsenal manager Unai Emery has confirmed that Rob Holding will start in this evening Carabao Cup against Nottingham Forest at the Emirates.
The Spaniard also hinted that both Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney could feature at some point in the game depending on which squad players are fit to play and which ones are not.
“We are going to decide tomorrow but the first idea is if we can, they will have minutes on Tuesday,” Emery said on Sunday.
“This is the first idea, but it depends on tomorrow for their feelings and the decision for the first XI because we played today and we are going to play on Tuesday.
“It’s not normal [to play again within] two days and we need fresh players and we need different players.
“Holding for example, he will play on Tuesday and we are going to decide tomorrow with Hector and with Tierney [if] we will want to use them. I don’t know if that’s starting in the first XI or after from the bench, or if they are feeling well.”
That sounds to me that Holding is almost certain to start and that Tierney and Bellerin are likely to be on the bench but as usual with Emery, it is probably best not to try and second guess him.
This surely means that within the next couple of Premier League games we could see all three in contention and that is huge for Arsenal.
The defence has been nothing short of a nightmare and to have all three back at more or less the same time is massive, of course, they will need some time to get up to speed and match fit but it is very very close now and about time.
These players could easily be the difference this season and the sooner they are back and available to replace the underperforming defenders we got right now, the better.