Rob Holding has revealed the details of his discussions with Mikel Arteta which convinced him to stay at Arsenal last summer.
The 25-year-old looked set to join Newcastle on loan for the 2020/21 campaign as he harboured questions over how much game time he would be afforded.
On top of the multitude of centre-backs already at the club, Arsenal also brought in Gabriel Magalhaes from Lille for £27million, providing plenty of competition for the position.
But after solid displays in the Community Shield win over Liverpool and the Premier League season-opening victory against Fulham, Arteta changed his mind and opted to keep Holding at the Emirates.
The English centre-half has gone on to be a regular feature for the north Londoners, with his solid displays earning him a new long-term contract which will keep him at the club until 2024.
Speaking to Arsenal’s official YouTube channel, Holding admitted that it would’ve been ‘stupid’ for him to leave the club after the backing he received from his manager.
‘It was looking like I was going to be out on loan for the year getting that Premier League experience because I wasn’t sure if I was in the manager’s plans this year to play as much as I have been doing,’ Holding told the club’s official YouTube channel.
‘The manager sat me down after a training session before the Community Shield game and said, ‘Are you focused on this weekend? We’re going to need you to play’.
‘I said to him, ‘There’s no doubt in my mind wherever I’m at, if I’m playing I’m going to be 100 per cent’. I’m not really thinking I don’t need to perform here if I’m leaving in two, three days or whatever.
‘I knew in my head and I think reassuring him that I would be stable for the game was something he wanted to hear and it seemed to pay off.
‘It’s something he wanted to make me aware and support me saying, ‘I want you here at Arsenal’.
‘As soon as you hear them words it would be stupid of me to then leave and go somewhere else.’
