Scouting Report on Arsenal Transfer Target Rob Holding

Arsenal appear to be closing in on their third signing of the summer. Having secured deals for midfielder Granit Xhaka and Japanese forward Takuma Asano, the club look to be on the verge of completing the transfer of Bolton Wanderers defender Rob Holding.

According to Simon Jones of the Daily Mail, Arsenal have submitted a formal bid and the player has already passed a medical:

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Arsenal have had a £2million bid accepted for Bolton Wanderers defender Rob Holding.

The England U21 international underwent a medical on Monday evening and is expected to be confirmed as an Arsenal player once personal terms are finalised.

Arsenal had an initial £1.2million offer rejected, they revised their offer to improve bonus payments but that was also rejected.

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It’s not the marquee striker that Arsenal fans were hoping for; however, this still appears to be an astute piece of business.

For starters, the defence is an area that needs addressing. Although Arsenal have four first-team centre-halves in Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker, Gabriel Paulista and Calum Chambers, neither Mertesacker nor Gabriel were particularly convincing as Koscielny’s regular partner last season.

Holding is unlikely to come in and immediately challenge for a first-team place. In that respect, he is in a comparable position to Chambers. Both are gifted centre-halves who have shone for England at youth level. Both players are also capable of filling in at right-back if required.

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Perhaps the purchase of Holding is what will allow Chambers to go out on loan. His development has slowed somewhat in the last 12 months due to a lack of first-team opportunities, but this summer he’s been linked with a temporary move elsewhere in the Premier League.

According to Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail, the Gunners are open to the possibility of letting the 21-year-old ply his trade with another club next term:

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Arsenal are prepared to loan Calum Chambers out next season, provided they sign a new centre back.

But Arsene Wenger will not sanction a permanent exit for the former Southampton believing he can still become a key figure for the Gunners.

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Chambers could now head out on loan for the 2016/17 season, which would accelerate his progress more than another season on the bench.

That would allow Holding to take up a place in the Gunners senior squad. Barring an injury crisis—and at Arsenal that can never be ruled out—the 20-year-old’s opportunities would most likely come in the domestic cup competitions.

However, the experience of training at London Colney every day could prove invaluable. Manager Arsene Wenger will want to keep a watchful eye on Holding, as there will be high hopes for him at the Emirates Stadium.

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The indications are that this is a player of considerable promise. Holding was a highlight in an otherwise disastrous season for Bolton. In a campaign during which they were relegated and their entire existence was threatened due to the possibility of liquidation, he was a rare bright spot.

Holding is a Bolton boy through and through. He joined the club at age seven and worked his way steadily up the ranks. He got his first taste of first-team football during a loan spell at Bury in 2014/15 but was restricted to a solitary appearance for the League One outfit by an untimely ankle injury.

Come 2015/16, he was training regularly with the senior Bolton squad. He made his full debut just three games into the new season, starting on the right of a trio of central defenders. It was an unfamiliar role for the inexperienced defender, and he struggled.

Arsenal fans know better than most the importance of fighting back from a difficult start. The likes of Alex Song and Hector Bellerin have overcome tricky initiations to become first-team fixtures. Holding did just that after spending several months in the wings—when he made his return to the XI, he looked like a different player.

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Holding initially got his break as a right-back before being shifted inside to his natural position. It was when playing as a centre-back that his qualities really came to the fore.

Holding is no giant, standing at 5’10”, but he is unusually quick for a centre-half. He’s a decent ball player, much like Gary Cahill—another technically gifted defender who became a star at Bolton.

The most intriguing aspect of his game is that he appears to be a natural organiser. Even at his tender age, Holding showed good instincts for organising a back four. In every game, there was a willingness to cajole more experienced players into position. That kind of vocal leadership is a rare quality—particularly in one so young.

Former Bolton manager Neil Lennon was in no doubt about his ability and told Neil Bonnar of the Bolton News: "Rob Holding has been a superstar for me. I think he has had real quality. Every game he seems to be growing in maturity and improving in performance."

Come the end of the campaign, Holding found himself named as Bolton’s official Player of the Year. He made 29 appearances in his maiden campaign, with his consistency seeing him handed an award that places him alongside names such as Jay-Jay Okocha, Kevin Davies and Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Speaking to the club’s official website, Holding said:

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It’s a massive honour for both myself and my family. Even though the season has been difficult, personally it’s a good feeling and one that I’m so proud of. I’ll never forget this.

If you would have said to me at the start of the year that I’d have played 29 first team games and be named as Player of the Year, I genuinely wouldn’t have believed you.

At the start of the season, I was dreaming of playing a couple of senior games, but for it to have panned out like it has is just a dream come true.

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It’s interesting to see Wenger buying another homegrown player.

While UEFA’s quotas will be a factor in his thinking, the signing of both Chambers and Holding in the past two years suggests Wenger is keen on the idea of an English presence at the heart of his defence.

The Frenchman’s best teams all had English defenders at their core, be that Tony Adams in 1998 or Sol Campbell in the Invincibles. Chambers or Holding have the potential to follow suit.

In the long term, there may only be room for one of them to make the breakthrough as a regular starter in north London. The battle between Chambers and Holding begins now. For Arsenal, that kind of competition can only be a good thing.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and will be following the club from a London base throughout 2016/17. Follow him on Twitter here.