- Pulls plug on Newcastle loan deal
- With defender impressing Arsenal Boss
- Mikel Arteta has had second thoughts about allowing Rob Holding to leave
- Newcastle wanted to borrow Holding and add him to their influx of new faces
- The two clubs held talks with Arsenal manager Arteta prepared to let him go
- However, Holding has taken his chance to impress Arteta and may now stay
Mikel Arteta has had second thoughts about allowing Rob Holding to leave Arsenal on loan this season. Newcastle wanted to borrow Holding and add him to their influx of new faces ahead of the upcoming campaign. The two clubs held talks with Arsenal manager Arteta initially prepared to let Holding leave after adding William Saliba, Pablo Mari and Gabriel Magalhaes to his squad. Their arrivals at the Emirates took Arteta’s pool of natural centre backs to eight plus Kieran Tierney who can also be deployed at the heart of the defence.
However, Holding has taken his chance to impress Arteta who is now weighing up keeping the 24-year-old as part of his squad for the season. Holding stepped in at the end of last season following Shkodran Mustafi’s hamstring injury to help Arsenal win the FA Cup with a 2-1 win over Chelsea.
He also contributed to another Wembley win when he lined up alongside Luiz and Tierney as Arsenal beat Liverpool on penalties to win the Community Shield last month. Newcastle’s move for Holding has now been temporarily shelved as they wait to see if Arsenal have a further change of heart.
Culled from DailyMail
