Rob Holding

Robert Samuel Holding (born 20 September 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Premier League club Arsenal.

Rob Holding
Holding playing for Arsenal in 2018
Personal information
Full name Robert Samuel Holding[1]
Date of birth (1995-09-20) 20 September 1995[2]
Place of birth Stalybridge, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.89 m)[3]
Position(s) Centre back[4]
Club information
Current team
 Arsenal
Number 16
Youth career
0000–2014 Bolton Wanderers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2016 Bolton Wanderers 26 (1)
2015 → Bury (loan) 1 (0)
2016– Arsenal 58 (0)
National team
2016–2017 England U21 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:09, 2 February 2021 (UTC)

Holding progressed through the Bolton Wanderers youth system, making his senior debut in April 2015 while on loan at Bury. After one season in the Bolton first team, he signed for Premier League club Arsenal in July 2016. He has won the FA Cup and the FA Community Shield twice each with the club. Holding has represented England at under-21 level and was part of the team that won the Toulon Tournament in 2016.

Early life

Holding was born and raised in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester.[5][6] He attended West Hill School in the town.[7]

Club career

Bolton Wanderers

Holding played for Stalybridge Celtic Juniors[8] before joining the Bolton Wanderers youth system at the age of seven.[9] He joined League Two club Bury on loan on 26 March 2015 for rest of the 2014–15 season.[10] Holding made his only Bury appearance on 3 April 2015 as a 79th-minute substitute in a 2–0 away win against Cambridge United.[11] On his return to Bolton, he signed his professional contract with the club.[12]

He made his Bolton debut on 11 August 2015 as a starter in a 1–0 home defeat to Burton Albion in the League Cup.[13] He scored his first goal for the club on 23 January 2016 in the seventh minute of a 3–1 home win against Milton Keynes Dons.[14] Holding was voted as Bolton Wanderers' Player of the Year for the 2015–16 season.[15] He made 30 appearances, scoring one goal,[13] as the team finished bottom of the Championship and were relegated to League One.[16]

Arsenal

Holding signed for Premier League club Arsenal on 22 July 2016 for a fee of around £2 million.[17] Following injuries to centre backs Per Mertesacker and Gabriel Paulista, he was called upon to make his Arsenal debut in the 2016–17 Premier League season opener on 14 August 2016 against Liverpool, which Arsenal lost 4–3 at home.[18] After his performance in the game against Leicester City, former Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, once famously said in the post match press conference, "Unfortunately no one speaks about the performance of Rob Holding. You should be happy, he is English and 20 years old. I am sorry he didn't cost £55 million, so he can't be good."[19] In the final two months of the season, Holding became a regular member of Arsenal's starting line-up, with the team winning all six of the matches he played in the Premier League.[20] He played the full 90 minutes in Arsenal's 2–1 victory over Chelsea on 27 May in the 2017 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium.[21]

Holding played in the 2017 FA Community Shield on 6 August which Arsenal won 4–1 penalty shoot-out to Chelsea after a 1–1 extra-time draw.[22] He scored his first Arsenal goal on 28 September 2017 with a close-range shot in their 4–2 away win over BATE Borisov in the UEFA Europa League.[23] He signed a new long-term contract with the club on 1 May 2018.[24]

On 5 December 2018, Holding suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a 2–2 draw against Manchester United. Holding would undergo surgery and was expected to be out for about six to nine months.[25]

Holding made his return to first team action on 24 September 2019 in Arsenal's 5–0 EFL Cup home victory against Nottingham Forest. He marked his return from injury with his first goal at Emirates Stadium, scoring Arsenal's third from a Reiss Nelson corner-kick.[26] On 1 August 2020, Holding was selected to start in the FA Cup Final against Chelsea, and went on to win his second winners' medal as Arsenal won their 14th FA Cup.[27]

On 28 August 2020, Holding was in the starting 11 in the 2020 FA Community Shield, which Arsenal clinched a 5-4 victory over Liverpool in the penalty shootout after the match was 1-1 after 90 minutes.[28] On 12 January 2021, Holding committed his future to Arsenal by signing a new three and a half year deal.[29] [30] He earned his 100th appearance for the Arsenal in the 3-1 victory over Southampton F.C. two weeks later.[31]

International career

Holding was called up to the England under-21 squad for the Toulon Tournament May 2016 as a replacement for Everton defender Brendan Galloway.[32] He made his debut for Gareth Southgate's team when starting against Guinea on 23 May.[33] England won the tournament with Holding making two appearances,[33] and was an unused substitute in the final on 29 May as England beat France 2–1.[34] He was selected for England's squad for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Poland,[35] but did not make an appearance with England eliminated in the semi-final.[33] Holding made five appearances for the under-21s from 2016 to 2017.[33]

Career statistics
As of match played 2 February 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bolton Wanderers 2014–15[11] Championship 000000——00
2015–16[13] Championship 2613010——301
Total 2613010——301
Bury (loan) 2014–15[11] League Two 10————10
Arsenal 2016–17[20] Premier League 9050301[lower-alpha 1]0—180
2017–18[36] Premier League 12010408[lower-alpha 2]11[lower-alpha 3]0261
2018–19[37] Premier League 10000105[lower-alpha 2]0—160
2019–20[38] Premier League 8050213[lower-alpha 2]0—181
2020–21[39] Premier League 19010201[lower-alpha 2]01[lower-alpha 3]0240
Total 580120121181201022
Career total 851150131181201333
  1. Appearance in UEFA Champions League
  2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. Appearance in FA Community Shield

Honours

Arsenal

England U21

Individual

References
  1. "Squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  2. "Rob Holding: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  3. "Rob Holding: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  4. "Rob Holding". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  5. "Arsene Wenger to 'let Arsenal up-and-coming star leave – but only if he gets £15m fee for defender'". Daily Mirror. London. 4 February 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  6. "Is Rob Holding an Arsenal fan now? | One on One". Arsenal F.C. 25 April 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2018 – via YouTube.
  7. Phillip, Mark (1 May 2018). "Holding signs Arsenal contract extension". Tameside Reporter. Ashton-under-Lyne. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  8. Whitehead, Liam (2 May 2018). "Former Celtic Junior signs new contract at Arsenal". Stalybridge Celtic Juniors F.C. Retrieved 14 June 2018 – via LeagueRepublic.
  9. Iles, Marc (30 January 2018). "Bolton set for windfall if Burnley sign Rob Holding from Arsenal". The Bolton News. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  10. "Rob Holding: Bury sign Bolton defender on loan". BBC Sport. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  11. "Games played by Rob Holding in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  12. "Four youngsters sign professional deals". Bolton Wanderers F.C. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  13. "Games played by Rob Holding in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  14. "Bolton Wanderers 3–1 Milton Keynes Dons". BBC sport. 23 January 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  15. "Rob Holding wins Player of the Year for 2015/16". Bolton Wanderers F.C. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  16. "Championship: 2015/16: Latest table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  17. "Arsenal: Defender Rob Holding signs from Bolton for £2m". BBC Sport. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  18. Chowdhury, Saj (14 August 2016). "Arsenal 3–4 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  19. "Wenger: 'Sorry Holding didn't cost £55m'". ESPN.com. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  20. "Games played by Rob Holding in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  21. Murray, Scott (27 May 2017). "Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea: 2017 FA Cup final – as it happened". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  22. Nakrani, Sachin (6 August 2017). "Olivier Giroud seals Community Shield win for Arsenal as Chelsea pay penalty". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  23. Begley, Emlyn (28 September 2017). "BATE Borisov 2–4 Arsenal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  24. "Arsenal: Rob Holding signs new long-term contract at Premier League club". BBC Sport. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  25. "Arsenal's Rob Holding ruled out for up to nine months with knee injury". BBC Sport. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  26. "Arsenal 5–0 Nottingham Forest: Unai Emery praises Gabriel Martinelli after League Cup brace". 24 September 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  27. McNulty, Phil (1 August 2020). "Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  28. "Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool (5-4 on pens): Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang secures Community Shield shootout win". Sky Sports. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  29. Rob Holding signs new long-term contract
  30. Rob Holding signs new Arsenal deal to stay at club until 2024
  31. "'It's a proud moment... here's to another 100!'". www.arsenal.com. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  32. "Rob Holding called into Under-21s squad for Toulon trip". The Football Association. 15 May 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  33. "England's matches: The under 21's: 2010–20". England Football Online. 9 June 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  34. Veevers, Nicholas (29 May 2016). "England under-21s lift Toulon title after win over France". The Football Association. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  35. "European Under-21 Championship: Ruben Loftus-Cheek out of England squad". BBC Sport. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  36. "Games played by Rob Holding in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  37. "Games played by Rob Holding in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  38. "Games played by Rob Holding in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  39. "Games played by Rob Holding in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  40. McNulty, Phil (27 May 2017). "Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  41. McNulty, Phil (1 August 2020). "Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  42. Rostance, Tom (6 August 2017). "Arsenal 1–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  43. Sanders, Emma (29 August 2020). "Arsenal 1–1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
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