Arsenal’s smart Rob Holding move could pay off with William Saliba plan ahead of the summer transfer window possibly seeing the Frenchman loaned out. (Photo by WILL OLIVER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
How many central defenders do Arsenal need to have heading into the coming season? As with positions across the squad in general, it’s less than for the previous campaign due to the lack of European involvement, which has raised a number of questions surrounding the current crop.
Namely, William Saliba.
With the decision to withdraw from France’s Olympics squad taking many by surprise, it’s opened up a whole new angle for what may happen to the Frenchman this summer.
For certain he will get pre-season work under his belt with Mikel Arteta and the staff, the question is how long for. A loan move has still been widely tipped to happen, as well as a potential sale due to the imminent arrival of Ben White, but now he has his chance to impress his manager.
If he transfers his Ligue 1 form into pre-season and makes him near ‘undroppable’, then there is no reason why he can’t wrestle his way into the first team in which case a decision will need to be made on Rob Holding.
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Arsenal’s smart Rob Holding move could pay off with William Saliba plan ahead of the summer transfer window possibly seeing the Frenchman loaned out
However, does anyone foresee Arteta making such a call? He trusts Holding and even with a pre-season under his belt the odds will be stacked in the favour of Saliba leaving on loan since Calum Chambers can fill in a centre-back, which it needn’t be said makes the £27m all the more baffling.
But it can be salvaged.
With the loan move Saliba may or may not have, should it transpire then he has to go to a Premier League club. It’s essential if he is to have any chance of making Arteta take real notice him. It’s apparent that experience is key to the manager’s thinking.
In the mean time Holding, who signed a new extension just last January, will sit tight and play backup to the hopeful arrival of Ben White.
That contract was lambasted from many corners of the fanbase as Arsenal ‘settling for mediocrity’ and ‘showing no ambition’, when in fact it was a very smart move on the club’s part. Yes, that does happen sometimes.
His value has been protected at the prime age of a central defender. Now 25 years old, his deal runs until 2024 with the option of a further year.
This is where Saliba comes in as Arsenal have been making plans behind the scenes to ensure even though the Frenchman was denied his chance to play, the club were benefiting in some way. Come next summer, it could all make sense.
Continued…
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<h2>Arsenal’s smart Rob Holding move could pay off with William Saliba plan ahead of the summer transfer window possibly seeing the Frenchman loaned out</h2>
<p>However, does anyone foresee Arteta making such a call? He trusts Holding and even with a pre-season under his belt the odds will be stacked in the favour of Saliba leaving on loan since Calum Chambers can fill in a centre-back, which it needn’t be said makes the £27m all the more baffling.</p>
<p>But it can be salvaged.</p>
<p>With the loan move <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/07/02/arsenal-smart-holding-move-saliba/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/06/04/arsenal-saliba-worry-arteta-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Saliba may or may not</a> have, should it transpire then he has to go to a Premier League club. It’s essential if he is to have any chance of making Arteta take real notice him. It’s apparent that experience is key to the manager’s thinking.</p>
<p>In the mean time Holding, who signed a new extension just last January, will sit tight and play backup to the hopeful arrival of Ben White.</p>
<p>That contract was lambasted from many corners of the fanbase as Arsenal ‘settling for mediocrity’ and ‘showing no ambition’, when in fact it was a very smart move on the club’s part. Yes, that does happen sometimes.</p>
<p>His value has been protected at the prime age of a central defender. Now 25 years old, his deal runs until 2024 with the option of a further year.</p>
<p>This is where Saliba comes in as Arsenal have been making plans behind the scenes to ensure even though the Frenchman was denied his chance to play, the club were benefiting in some way. Come next summer, it <em>could </em>all make sense.</p>
<p><em>Continued…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/07/02/arsenal-smart-holding-move-saliba/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> The smart Holding and Saliba plan </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-115870" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/07/02/arsenal-smart-holding-move-saliba/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1233074487-850x560.jpeg" alt="Arsenal, William Saliba" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LYON, FRANCE – MAY 23: William Saliba of Nice celebrating his goal with his teammates during the Ligue 1 match between Olympique Lyon and OGC Nice at Groupama Stadium on May 23, 2021 in Lyon, France. (Photo by Marcio Machado/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Arsenal Can Sell Rob Holding With William Saliba Being Homegrown</h2>
<p>Naturally, the ideal scenario would have been that Saliba was good enough in the manager’s eyes that he would have nailed down his place in the heart of defence and there wouldn’t need to be a £50m outlay on White.</p>
<p>That ship has sailed.</p>
<p>While he will <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/07/02/arsenal-smart-holding-move-saliba/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/06/18/saliba-arsenal-chance-future-arteta/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">get his pre-season</a> this term, if he goes out and spends 12 months elsewhere but is still registered in the club’s squad – sides are are also entitled to register an unlimited number of players under the age of 21 – when he then returns he will have been on Arsenal’s books for three years before turning 21 which means he will class as homegrown.</p>
<p>So 12 months down the line, Arsenal will have Saliba with another season of football under his belt, wherever that may be, and Holding who will be 26, English, in his prime and with a greater valuation.</p>
<p>Is it a lot to assume that Arsenal are plotting with a view to bringing a homegrown Saliba into the side for 2022/23 and then selling Holding that same summer for a fair amount of money? Maybe so, but it would be a smart move to balance out what has been a poorly handled career so far for Saliba.</p>
<p>There was talk this summer of Everton wanting Holding but him being valued at £30m, which is quite astounding and frankly ridiculous, but what is for certain is that he will have suitors in the division who are after a solid low-block centre-back with <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/07/02/arsenal-smart-holding-move-saliba/"https://www.90min.com/leagues/premier-league" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Premier League</a> experience who classes as homegrown.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Leno future hint?" data-url="https://paininthearsenal.com/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/07/02/arsenal-smart-holding-move-saliba/"https://paininthearsenal.com/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Leno future hint? </a> </div>
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<p>While ideally it wouldn’t have played out this way and Saliba would have had 38 Premier League games under his belt heading into his second campaign with Arsenal, the situation has every chance of leaning this way. If so, it demonstrates a bit of strategy from the Gunners’ part even if the original plan may have dug them a hole in the first place.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
