Unai Emery Challenges Gunners Star To Seize His Opportunity

Unai Emery wants Rob Holding to grasp his opportunity…

Arsenal boss Unai Emery has challenged Rob Holding to step up and stake a claim in the team ahead of our Carabao Cup against Brentford on Wednesday, he told Arsenal Player.

Given Emery’s limited English, I think we can gather that when he makes reference to the “first” eleven, he’s alluding to what he considers the regular Premier League team.

Holding came on for the injured Sokratis in our 2-0 win against Everton and the 23-year-old produced a solid display, maintaining our clean sheet and looked better than Shkodran Mustafi.

The fact that the former Bolton man is here and was not loaned out like Calum Chambers was, shows that Emery feels he can play a major role this season.

Holding’s footwork is also of the required standard to play the Emery way, and now the head coach has called on him to stake his claim.

“We need every player when chances and opportunities come because we need to also take more players to play,” the boss was quoted as saying.

“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 XI.”

Holding’s development seemed to be halted last season amid the manic final campaign under Arsene Wenger, though he’s certainly proven his potential in the past.