Arsenal signed 6ft 2in centre-back Rob Holding from Bolton in the summer of 2016 despite him only having been with the Trotters’ first-team for one season, but the £2m investment is now looking like money well spent with Unai Emery at the helm.

After being unused at the start of the season, the Spanish boss brought the now 23-year-old defender into the side for the Europa League opener against FC Vorskla Poltava in mid-September, and three days later he was used as a first-half substitute to replace the injured Sokratis Papastathopoulos in the Premier League against Everton.

Since then, Holding has grasped his chance with both hands and has been one of Arsenal’s top performers in recent weeks, culminating in his dominant defensive display against Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League.

The Englishman won three aerial duels against the Portuguese side and made a hugely impressive seven clearances as he was partnered with Sokratis, keeping the more experienced Shkodran Mustafi on the bench.

The one stand-out error from Holding was a misplaced pass to former Manchester United man Nani, but the winger failed to make anything of the chance and Arsenal kept their clean sheet away from home – something that became a rarity in the final years under Arsene Wenger.

Despite this, Holding still managed a 93 per cent pass accuracy from 54 attempts, proving he is growing into the role of the ball playing defender that Emery wants.

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Arsenal have now won 11 games on the bounce under Emery and the young defender has been immense recently, providing extra pace and cover than Mustafi does. If Arsenal do have serious top-four ambitions as well as an eye on a Europa League run then the continued form of Holding could be crucial.

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