Arsenal are set to reward Rob Holding with a new long-term contract following a series of impressive displays for Mikel Arteta‘s side this season.
The Telegraph are reporting that the Gunners want to tie down the future of the England defender in the new year, even though Holding still has two years left to run on his existing deal.
Arsenal Want to Give Rob Holding a Long-Term Contract
The Defender Has Turned His Fortunes Around at The Emirates
At times during last summer’s transfer window, it seemed unlikely that Holding would be staying at Arsenal this season, let alone for the long haul.
The Gunners signed both Pablo Mari and Gabriel Magalhaes ahead of the current campaign, meaning the future had looked bleak for the England defender. However, Holding was handed a start by Mikel Arteta in Arsenal’s opening day win at Fulham and has not looked back since.
Indeed it was after that game that Arteta singled out the 25-year-old for praise, saying Holding was “not going anywhere” in the market, and would instead play a key role for his side this season.
Since that opening day encounter, Holding has made a further 13 appearances for Arsenal in the Premier League. A further four appearances in the cup competitions brings the defender’s overall total this season to 17, only six games fewer than his total for the whole of last season.
Player Departures on The Agenda For Arsenal This January
Gunners boss Arteta has said his club would be prioritising the departures of first-team players who are not in his plans going forward, meaning incomings do not appear likely for the North London club in the winter window.
German defender Sead Kolasinac has already sealed a move back to Germany, having re-joined former club Schalke on loan until the end of the season.
It is a move befitting of Arteta’s plan to trim his squad as a matter of urgency. The Spaniard recently told reporters that the Gunners “cannot sustain the numbers we have in certain positions”, and that outgoings are a “priority” in the immediate term.
“There are some players that are going to go on loan and [are] going to leave,” Arteta added in a press conference held on Thursday.
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