Rob Holding may have left Arsenal in the summer, but he’s still a firm believer in the Mikel Arteta project.
The English centre back ended his seven year stint at the Emirates with a switch to Crystal Palace, leaving as one of the only remaining players from the Arsene Wenger era.
Holding won two FA Cups during his time in north London, and was even involved in a title race last season, with the Gunners just falling short to Manchester City.
Impressed by Arteta, no one quite had the impact of Wenger on Holding, as he told talkSPORT.
“It was amazing,” he recalled. “I remember the first day I got to training and walked past him in the corridor and I was hitting my dad like ‘that’s Arsene Wenger!’ it was just so weird for me to see.”
Discussing the man who went on to replace Wenger after Unai Emery’s brief stint, Holing continued: “With Arteta now they’ve got a hell of a manager who’s going to go on to do great things.
“His tactical awareness and how he sees the game is incredible. I didn’t realise how much I didn’t know about football until I’d been in a meeting with him a few times and you start to think that he sees football differently to how anyone has seen it in the world around me.
“The way they’ve started the season I’m sure they can carry on and go for another title charge.”
Much of what makes the Spanish coach unique was captured on the Amazon All or Nothing documentary, but one element that made it into the media wasn’t.
That was Arteta’s decision to introduce a dog to the training ground, something Holding loved.
“You actually could take her home,” he revealed. “I never got to do it but I have my own dog and I always was always like ‘she can come and have a sleepover!’ and you’re allowed to do that which is cool.
“I think he’s always looking for ways to bring something new to the culture and emphasise how he sees the game and the way he wants the team to be.
“He’s got a team there who are believers in his system and what he sees and I think that’s why over the last few years they’ve kicked on.”
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