Former Arsenal captain Tony Adams has heaped praise onto Rob Holding after his performances in place of William Saliba. The Gunners defender has impressed in the recent Premier League wins over Crystal Palace and Leeds in Mikel Arteta's defence.
Holding has deputised for Saliba in the last two games after the Frenchman sustained a back injury in the Europa League exit to Sporting CP. The 22-year-old has now missed the last three fixtures after picking up the knock, with him absent from the squad to face Liverpool.
Arteta makes only one change to the side that eased past Leeds last weekend with Bukayo Saka replacing Leandro Trossard after dropping to the bench with illness with Holding partnering Gabriel.
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After Saliba was forced off in the 21st minute against Sporting over three weeks ago, anxiety swept throughout the Gunners fan base after the formidable partnership formed with Gabriel this season. However, Holding has, so far, filled it perfectly fine.
Today, the Englishman comes up against his toughest opponent yet in Liverpool. But Adams has claimed Holding has impressed him in his recent displays. Speaking to The Sun, he said: “That’s a bigger concern [Zinchenko] for me than Rob Holding having to deputise for William Saliba at centre-half.
“I love Holding to bits because he has a wonderful attitude but I watched his last two games against Crystal Palace and Leeds, and he hardly touched the ball.
“He was so comfortable playing in a team full of confidence and working together as a unit that I reckoned I could have done that job — and I’m 56 years old!”
Holding has lost five of his 10 appearances against Liverpool. He has only been involved in one Premier League victory against the Reds and has fallen to 3-1 and 4-0 defeats at Anfield.
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