Arsenal have reportedly changed their minds on letting Rob Holding leave the club this summer after he was seemingly on his way to Newcastle Utd on loan.
Having added William Saliba and Gabriel to the defensive ranks this summer, the Gunners have plenty of competition for places in that department ahead of the new campaign.
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David Luiz, Sokratis, Shkodran Mustafi, Calum Chambers, Pablo Mari and others are all available to Mikel Arteta in the heart of his defence, and so it seemed like the smart thing to do to try and offload some of those individuals in order to trim the squad.
As noted by the Metro, it appeared as though Holding was set to be loaned out in order gain playing time and experience to further develop his game, but Arsenal are said to have changed their mind on approving an exit and now don’t want to see the defensive ace leave.
It’s unclear if that means question marks will be raised over one of his teammates instead, as it would suggest that one of the names above are more likely to be shipped out and Holding stays in order to offer competition and depth as Arsenal look to compete on multiple fronts this year.
The Gunners faithful may well be pleased with that decision as Holding can play a key role for Arteta, while the likes of Mustafi and Sokratis could make way in order to allow younger options to come through and offer long-term solutions.
Time will tell how the situation plays out, but for now, it doesn’t appear as though Holding is going anywhere as he will continue to push for a starting berth at the Emirates ahead of the season-opener against Fulham this weekend.