At the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal defender Rob Holding has signed a new long-term deal.
The 25-year-old has placed a three-and-a-half-year contract on pen-to-paper until the summer of 2024, with the option of a further year.
Allegedly, the former Bolton defender came close to leaving the club on loan over the summer, but this season he established himself in the first Gunners team under Mikel Arteta, making more Premier League appearances so far than any other central defender.
I have been extremely impressed with Rob’s commitment to the club and the locker room, on and off the pitch, since I started as a manager. The consistency of his work on the training pitches every day is outstanding and he turns this into consistently high match performances,” said Arsenal boss Arteta.
Technical director Edu added: “We are very pleased to have signed a new contract extension with Rob. He is 25 years old, so he is still coming to the peak of his career, and we are pleased that during these important years he will be with us.”
“In recent months, Rob has shown great quality and experience on and off the pitch and is progressing well. In the years to come, we look forward more to Rob continuing his progression.”
Since joining Bolton ahead of the 2016-17 season, Holding has made almost 100 appearances for Arsenal and was part of the Gunners side that defeated Chelsea to win the FA Cup at the end of that campaign.
He sustained, however, a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee the following year that would hold him out of action for nine months.
In September 2019, he returned to fitness and won his second FA Cup medal at the end of last season as the Gunners defeated Chelsea at Wembley once more.