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  • I've been watching some Arsenal related content recently and there was a lot of criticism of Holding. I get if we were relying on him were in a world of trouble, lol. But, I feel like he was reliable when called upon more often than not.

    He had a howler in that Spurs game, but he was a part of two FA cup wins and was called upon to hold last minute defences in the last part of his career with us. People used to call him Holdini often, lol. Unless that's why people shiver at the thought of Holding, lol.

    Just curious to know what you guys think.

    • @nuggsy @GunnersBot 100ูช agree. Its like the Chelsea cup final in 2017 never happened in some people's minds. He had Costas number when it mattered. He lost his head against spurs but he was a very capable player on his day.

      • His performance in the 2017 final should afford him a lot of latitude alone. Your are right, he had Diego Costa in his pocket the whole time. And considering how Costa had mentally destroyed some of our other defenders over the years, that alone was very impressive. That guy was a right fucker for our defenders to play against. But Rob flipped the script on him and had him mentally spinning in circles.

      • @Beedge@mstdn.social Yeah, I don't know where it's suddenly come from. I think it's easy to forget what he did for the club during his time. I don't think he was the best defender, by all means, but he put in a shift when needed often.

        I wondered if the criticism was similar to why Xhaka was criticised at times. He had some really bad moments, but he could have had a fairly average game, but he would often be used as a scapegoat for a poor result.

    • I agree. He got a lot of unwarranted stick. Yes, he had a few really bad matches. But against smaller and mid-table teams he was usually very solid. And in his first few seasons (before that horrible ACL injury, and when he wasn't injured) he was consistently fantastic, including in some big matches against strong opposition. Plus, he was a great servant to the club and mentor to the younger players.

      In addition, he seems like a genuinely good guy (same as Mo Elneny, who also gets a lot of unwarranted shit from some gooners). It makes me sad to see the level of hate Rob got shit from some.

    • Still love him, he's just unlucky in that modern football has somewhat moved beyond the type of football he's suited to (and also Palace have kinda fucked him). A bit of a team leader, a little fringe player, honestly wouldn't have minded if we sold Cedric but kept him.

      • Yeah, I think that's a good point. Game has passed him by in a sense, as well as how Arteta wants to play.

        What have Crystal Palace done to him?

  • Crystal Palace just went in against Liverpool. 0-1 so far

    • Honestly while it sounds weird idk how much I want Liverpool to lose, I'm terrified of city lmfao

      • That's actually fair. But Liverpool have had a few clear chances to equalise and haven't taken them. which seems par for the course for them lately

    • And it's finished. 1-0 win to Palace. At Anfield no less! Palace is an underrated team, especially with their new manager. But bloody hell, Liverpool have been horrible the last two matches now. If we can get a win today and not collapse over the next few weeks (please lads, stay focused and strong!), then it's probably gone from a 3 horse race to a 2 horse race.

    • This match is fairly good so far. A lot of back and forth. Liverpool could have evened the score once or twice. Crystal Palace could be 3-0 up

    • Crystal Palace should have been 2-0 up... they had a chance but was cleared on the line by Robertson. Shot should have had a bit more pace

23 comments