Rob Holding Shines Against MLS All-Stars, but Arsenal Still Need a New Defender

What a rollercoaster summer it’s been for Rob Holding. Having ended last season being relegated to League One with Bolton Wanderers, he then triumphed in the Toulon Tournament with the England U21 side before signing for Champions League club Arsenal.

Last night, a crazy few months culminated in the 20-year-old making his Gunners debut in a 2-1 win over the MLS All-Stars. 

It may only have been a friendly, but it must have still felt like a big moment for Holding. The All-Stars side included the likes of Didier Drogba, Kaka and Andrea Pirlo. Although he played plenty of football for Bolton last season, winning their Player of the Season award in the process, he’s never faced quite such big names before. 

The youngster came through the test very well indeed. Although he followed suit with most Arsenal defenders of the past decade, conceding a goal to the irrepressible Drogba, he was largely excellent.

Arsenal appear to have acquired a defender who is composed on the ball and positionally astute. Speaking to the club’s official website after the game, Holding said: 

"

It's good to play against the likes of Drogba, Kaka and Pirlo. They are top quality players who have had massive careers and you can learn from playing against them. So it's been a great experience. 

[The win] is massive. If you can get a good couple of wins in early you get that momentum, so that when you come to that first game of the season, against Liverpool at home, hopefully we can hit the ground running. Hopefully that will be the case.

"

Holding has certainly hit the ground running in his Arsenal career. When he initially signed, it was unclear if he was part of Arsene Wenger’s plans for the first-team squad. However, having been handed the No. 16 shirt and being included with the senior side so quickly, it seems Wenger will be prepared to use him next season. He must be making quite the impression.

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Speaking to Arsenal Player, Wenger admitted he had been pleased with Holding’s impact: "I thought he did very well. I must say he looked composed, mastered the pressure well, wasn't nervous and he reads the game very well. I think it's very interesting to see that such a young boy like him can cope with a game like that."

Even his fellow team-mates were struck by the maturity he showed. Calum Chambers, who was at the Toulon Tournament with Holding earlier this summer, told the club's website: “I thought he was brilliant. He's a great player both defensively and on the ball. He's got composure, he's great to play alongside”.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

However, the fact Chambers and Holding were even paired together is an illustration of Arsenal’s lack of experienced options at centre-half. Laurent Koscielny is still holidaying after his exertions at Euro 2016, while Gabriel Paulista has been suffering from a bout of illness.

Wenger was probably hoping to rely upon Per Mertesacker, who was able to enjoy a summer off after retiring from international football back in 2014. However, a knee injury now threatens to rule Mertesacker out of several months of action.

That leaves Wenger short, and he has admitted he will now need to make a move in the transfer market:

"

We have bad news on Per Mertesacker. He played in Lens on Friday night, he finished the game and had a little pain on his knee. We found out the next day that it was much more serious than expected. He had surgery yesterday in Germany. It all went well. I know you will ask me for how long he will be out. I don’t know that, it’s [some] months, but I don’t know [exactly] how long he will be out for.

[...]

We have to look for an option to get a bit more experience. We will see some of our young centre backs on Thursday as well. With Per being out, we are a bit short on the experience front and we are looking to bring somebody in. 

"

This was supposed to be the summer Arsenal ended their long wait for a new centre-forward—and now they find themselves urgently needing a centre-back.

It is important that Arsenal do not allow excitement over Holding’s encouraging debut to distract them from the need to secure an experienced alternative. Playing a friendly against MLS All-Stars is a test, but it is still a far cry from the punishing pressure of the Premier League.

LLUIS GENE/Getty Images

It seems the man Arsenal have identified to replace Mertesacker is Valencia’s Shkodran Mustafi. The Germany international, who had a spell at Everton as a youngster, moved to La Liga in 2014 and has been excellent in Spain.

Sky Germany (h/t Sky Sports) said the Gunners are trying to bring him back to the Premier League:

"

Arsenal are in talks to sign Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi, according to Sky Germany.

It is understood that no offer for the 24-year-old Germany international centre-back has yet been made to the Spanish club.

Mustafi has a release clause of £42.1m but Sky Germany understand that Arsenal may be able to sign the German for £25.3m plus a further £8.4m in add-ons.

"

That may appear like a lot of money, but with the market seemingly escalating on a daily basis, Arsenal may have to accept that’s the sort of fee they’ll have to pay to secure a player of real quality. The advantage of signing Mustafi is that he does provide an option at full-back as well as centre-half.

For the most part, the All-Stars game passed largely without incident. Granit Xhaka joined Holding in making his first appearance for the club and demonstrated a delightful range of passing.

There were also a couple of memorable moments for some of the younger players—after Drogba had equalised Joel Campbell’s penalty, teenage midfielder Chris Willock was involved in the buildup to Arsenal’s winning goal, which was tapped home by Chuba Akpom.

It’s good to see those young Gunners impressing, but the Arsenal fans will want to be reassured by the arrival of some experienced names. The clock is ticking, and Wenger still has plenty of business to conduct before the deadline—starting at centre-forward and centre-half.

  

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.