With the return of William Saliba from his loan with Marseille, competition at the heart of the Arsenal defence has intensified. Rob Holding, however, appears undaunted. For the 26-year-old, the added squad depth serves purely as motivation.
“I’ve been here seven years now and the club have made other signings at centre-half since I’ve been there,” he tells The Athletic. “It comes down to me backing myself and proving to the manager that I’m good enough to play — and that’s spoken for itself over the past six years.
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“I’ve seen a few centre-halves that have come in and have now gone, and I’m still here — so I must be doing something right. It’s another challenge, and we go from there.”
Since arriving at Arsenal in the summer of 2016, Holding has become a fixture at London Colney. Although he is celebrated for his role off the pitch — Matt Turner recently spoke glowingly to The Athletic about the lengths Holding has gone to help him settle in — he is a footballer first and foremost. He has a competitive spirit and wants to play games.
Arsenal are back in Europe this season, and Holding thinks more depth and quality in defence is necessary. “Last season, there were only three central defenders, really,” he explains. “By the end, there was only me, Gabi and Ben (White), and we were getting thin. Ben was carrying some knocks — and I had a bit of a knock on the knee and was getting through games from the Chelsea away game — so we were fighting to get through those last couple of games.
“But we’ve got some bodies in with Saliba back, and then Pablo [Mari] is back too, so it gives us a bit more depth if we do have a couple of injuries again.”
Arsenal’s return to the Europa League means more games and potentially more opportunities to start. That would be welcome: despite earning a reputation last season as an effective late substitute, Holding aspires to feature more regularly in the starting XI.
“I don’t want to look back on my career and think, ‘Oh, yeah, I played really great in the last 10 minutes of games’,” he says. “I don’t want to be known as ‘the 5-3-2 defender that comes on and sees out games’, as funny and as amusing as it is.
“I want to look back at my career and think, ‘I’ve played a hell of a lot of games’. And if that’s for Arsenal, then great. But whatever happens, I’m not going to just give up and be like, ‘Because I’m not starting, I’m not interested in coming on and helping the team’. If I’m getting on the pitch, then I’m going to be there and doing my best for the team and helping them get to where we want to be.”
Speaking at the launch of Arsenal’s new away kit in Orlando, Holding returns more than once to the theme of wanting more opportunities to play. He had to be patient last season — with Arsenal out of Europe, time on the pitch was fairly limited.
It was that desire for game time that almost led to him joining Newcastle in the summer of 2020. It was a Sliding Doors moment for the defender — since then, he has established himself as a valuable member of Arteta’s squad.
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“It was always going to be a loan,” he explains. “I was just back from my ACL injury and thought I needed a full season of playing. But after the Community Shield against Liverpool, the boss said to me, ‘You’re going to play here, I don’t know why you’re planning on going on loan’. And I said, ‘If I’m going to play here then yeah, I’m happy, no problem’. And I ended up playing 35-odd Premier League games that year.”
Holding is one of the players who stands to benefit from Arsenal’s return to the Europa League — but there’s still a lingering sense of regret that it’s not the Champions League.
“Of course, we were disappointed,” he admits. “When we were looking at the table and we had the points (advantage) and games in hand… It was a bit like, ‘Oh, we could do this! We could achieve what had been our end goal since the start of the season’.
“And I think there were just a couple of games where we didn’t perform to our best. We lost five of the last 10 and we just sort of let it slip away. We had a few injuries and sort of lost ‘the team’ — and lost important individuals.”
Of course, things would have been different had Arsenal beaten rivals Tottenham in May. Instead, they were beaten 3-0, with Holding sent off for two yellow cards awarded after fouls on Son Heung-min.
“It stayed with me for a few days after,” Holding admits. “I remember the next day we were off and I was taking the dog for a walk. And I was just walking — I was just thinking over and over again in my head, ‘What could I have done different? Could I have maybe had a different body shape, or not been quite as tight?’
“I didn’t want him [Son] to have a free run so I wanted to make it a bit of a physical battle. It is what it is, you can’t dwell on it too much. You’ve got to move on — games come thick and fast. I obviously missed the Newcastle game and then was back for Everton in the last game of the season, when there was still a chance (of top four) if the Tottenham result went our way. So we had to make sure we finished strong, which we did.”
Like many in the Arsenal squad, Holding puts the concession of top four more down to the team’s poor April form than May’s derby. “It didn’t come down to just the Tottenham game,” he insists. “I think there were three games — Palace, Southampton and Brighton — where we dropped points when we should really have finished it off there.”
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The disappointment has however crystallised Arsenal’s ambitions for next year. “We want Champions League qualification,” says Holding. “We’ve got two opportunities: you’ve got the top four and the Europa League. My preference would be to have both.”
Arteta is expected to name a new captain of Arsenal soon, with Martin Odegaard likely to receive the armband. Odegaard will however be supported by a wider leadership group. It’s a role Holding has taken on before and it seems almost certain he will retain a key position in the squad hierarchy. Leadership is something that, for Holding, comes naturally.
“It’s followed me around from when I was at Bolton, really,” he says. “Through the age groups, I was always a captain of the team. It’s been a blessing and sometimes been a curse — you’re sort of expected to be the one that steps up, even though you’ve not been chosen to be the one.
“It means setting the standards, doing things right — don’t be doing anything stupid, messing up or being late. It’s just simple stuff.
“It should just be a given. That’s how I was brought up by my dad. He was a stickler for rules and that rubbed off on me.
“I always end up being one of the guys to help people learn and develop. You want a guy that’s going to help people and bring them forward, rather than hold them back.”
Holding is something of an Americanophile — his partner is from the states and he loves the food, the people and the culture. He’s therefore been a natural choice to help Turner find his feet. “As an honorary American, I have to help a ‘fellow yank’ settle,” smiles Holding. “It was obviously a whirlwind for him to come over — his wife arrived heavily pregnant and she gave birth pretty much straight away. He’s not had a chance to sort a car or anything and I live down the road from him, so I just sent him a text and said, ‘Mate, if you need a lift just text me and I’ll pick you up, take you home’.”
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Holding is perceived as one of the elder statesmen of the group, even though he is still only 26. “I always think that later on in my career, when I’m like 29, people will think, ‘Wow – he’s been around for a while!’ — and that will feel like a good thing,” he says. “Towards the end of my career, people will realise, ‘Oh my God, he’s still quite young!’ and they’ll appreciate how long I’ve been around.”
But it’s a responsibility the defender accepts. “We are quite a young team,” he admits. “We have a couple of senior roles: guys like me, Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey, Mohamed Elneny, Cedric. We’ve all got a bit of age and a bit of experience, but we’ve also got the young enthusiasm and energy, which I think makes for a really good balance right now.”
“It’s a good group as well,” he adds. “The best thing about this trip has been the team’s togetherness. I saw it towards the end of the season last year, and it’s carried on as we left off. Everyone’s together and all on the same wavelength, which is good.”
“I love my time here. I love the staff and the players that we work with. There’s no one that I couldn’t sit in a room and chat with for 10-20 minutes. Everyone’s easy and approachable.”
Wearing the club’s new black away strip, Holding speaks glowingly of what it means to wear the Arsenal shirt. “The first time I ever walked into the changing room at the Emirates Stadium and saw my kit ready for the game was a surreal experience,” he says. “I don’t think that feeling ever goes. I grew up watching Arsenal rivalling United and I was just in awe when they came in to sign me. Every time I see the kit with the name on the back, I feel it.
“I remember the Tony Adams quote — ‘Play for the badge on the front of the shirt and they’ll remember the name on the back’. It’s a constant reminder of the pride people have in this shirt.”
It’s clear Arsenal are dear to Holding’s heart — but while he has been celebrated for his role off the pitch, he is not willing to forego his time on it. Playing is paramount.
In the face of stiff competition, he has proven himself to be a player Arteta trusts. That status is not something he will let go without a fight. With the arrival of Saliba, Holding is gearing himself up for two big challenges: demonstrating his value to Arsenal once again and helping the club back into the Champions League.
