Arsenal are looking to tie down centre-back Rob Holding to a longer-term contract, according to reports in the English media.
The 25-year-old has two and a half years left on his current deal but the Gunners are apparently keen to reward the defender after he established himself as a regular starter under manager Mikel Arteta.
Reaction to the news on Twitter has been mixed, with some fans believing the club should be looking for better players than Holding, while others feel it is a good decision:
Terrible decision
— Eme_ka (@emeka_wosu) January 1, 2021
Its actually a sensible deal. Protect his value and if he improves certain aspects all the better
— Rahul Naren (@RahulNaren3592) January 1, 2021
Understand because his home grown but should never be starting for arsenal
— Keyser Söze (@luuuuke1234) January 1, 2021
Good news
— Francis emberru (@Francisemberru) January 1, 2021
Worst news all year
— jsmooth? (@smooth1jj) January 1, 2021
He’s our third best CB after Gabriel and Pablo Mari…
— (حسن) ❤BLM | Yemen | Palestine❤ (@hassan_iqbal_96) January 1, 2021
We are not serious
— James St Patrick (@stiffrich1) January 1, 2021
Good news, we’ve been haunted by players running down their contracts for a while now.
— Parlay (@Parlay85) January 1, 2021
Not good enough
— Ian Goldsmith (@IanGoldsmith7) January 1, 2021
He deserved it
— Bluze Sinzu ?✨ (@Bluzezs) January 1, 2021
It’s been a rather sharp turnaround in fortunes for Holding. It was only a few months ago when the player seemed destined to join Newcastle on loan but Arteta pulled the plug on the deal after seeing the centre-half’s performances at the start of the campaign.
Whether the defender has the ability to help Arsenal challenge at the top end of the table again, it is up for debate, but he has certainly performed well so far this season.
