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Unai Emery challenges aspiring defender to shine amid injury conundrum

Unai Emery has challenged aspiring defender Rob Holding to shine amid Arsenal’s injury conundrum in order to earn himself a permanent spot in the Spaniard’s starting XI.

During the Gunners’ 2-0 Premier League victory over Everton on Sunday, Sokratis Papastaphopoulos was hauled off in the first-half after sustaining an injury and Holding, 23, subsequently replaced the Greece international centre-half.

Sokratis has regularly partnered Shkodran Mustafi in the heart of the north-Londoners’ rearguard at the start of the 2018-19 campaign and the pair are beginning to form an effective partnership. But now that the 30-year-old enforcer appears to be out of contention until further notice, a seemingly perfect opportunity has arisen for the former Bolton Wanderers centre-back to step out of the shadows and make his presence known.

Arsenal encounter Brentford in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening at the Emirates, and as Holding is likely to be named in Emery’s matchday fold, the ex-Paris Saint-Germain tactician conveyed to the media (via Sky Sports):

“We need every player when chances and opportunities come, because we need to also take more players to play,

“Like on Sunday, for example, after Sokratis’ injury it was important how Rob played and helped the team to find the performance to win against Everton.

“Brentford is also a good opportunity for Holding to continue taking confidence, taking minutes and taking also our ideas of playing and I want to look at him also with our best performance, staying in the first eleven.”

Moving south from the Trotters in the summer of 2016, Holding is yet to truly exhibit his full potential in an Arsenal shirt, but has widely impressed on his sporadic outings for the club.

Holding was tasked with the problematic responsibility of leashing Diego Costa – then of Chelsea – in the 2016 FA Cup final, and the fledgling defensive anchor consummately muzzled the fiery Spanish striker, a spirited performance that vastly contributed towards Arsenal’s 2-1 triumph at Wembley.

With Laurent Koscielny also still sidelined and Calum Chambers out on loan at Fulham, there’s arguably never been a better time for Holding to stake his claim, although the Bees will relentlessly press and probe Arsenal in every department on the turf, so the five-time England U21 international will ultimately have to remain diligent and disciplined in his defensive duties.

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