Mert is underrated tbh, our defensive record in the league has been very stable over the last couple of seasons despite Mert playing significant minutes.
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Erghhhh not you again.
Your tone and opinion of the club is deplorable and arrogant.
Delighted with this signing. I think he represents an exciting young English talent and no matter what people say about needing to sign players for now, signing ones for the future is essential too. Because when Lolo eventually gives in over the next 2-3 seasons (he might not even last that long) it’ll be nice to have some ready made and quality replacements.
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Mertesacker declined rapidly last season to be fair. If you think he can be a starter in a title winning team you’re kidding yourself.
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I have no problem with this signing but we need a top quality CB to replace Mertesacker.
Also Gabriel isn’t consistent enough to be a starting CB, so we really need a CB to play in the first team, as well as Holding.
If this signing is the best we can do, in such an important position, then we are clearly not ambitious enough.
Mertesacker was a liability in several games last season, and it will only take an injury to Kos, which is quite likely, and we will see a CB partnership of Mertesacker and Gabriel.
With 200m in the bank, surely we can do a bit better than haggling a few 100k for Holding.
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[quote]Arsenal have made a bid of about £2m for Bolton Wanderers defender Rob Holding, reports BBC Radio Manchester.
The 20-year-old is a product of the Bolton youth system and was in the England Under-21 squad that won the Toulon tournament this summer.
Holding won the Bolton player of the year award last season after making his debut at the start of the campaign.
Meanwhile, Wanderers are considering making an offer for former Brighton defender Gordon Greer.[/quote]
200M in the bank for the transfer window it’s like the story of Santa Claus or the metropolitan legend of the girl who steals you a kidney after a night of sex 
Apart this, yeah, we need a CB to build a partnership with Koscielny (if Arsène will judge Gabriel not good enough, at the moment) but Holding, like Asano, is one for the future.
I’m Holding out hope that we actually sign someone that can play this year. And I don’t mean in a Calum Chambers kind of way.
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I don’t get why your typical Facebook clickbaiters are acting so smug over this. We get two windows to buy players, so what are we meant to do, be like the other three big clubs who change managers constantly so don’t think about developing younger players at all? We’re Arsenal. It might not always be the right way, but thank god it’s our way and it’s different to them lot.
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So developing younger players like we’re doing with Chambers eh?
He hasn’t looked particularly comfortable in the league for a while, but he certainly had his chances in his first year.
I was just listening to GFP’s latest Podcast and they did a segment running down all of our great “youth development”…it was sad and hilarious. We don’t develop anyone.
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Ramsey, Wilshere, Theo - despite his obvious weaknesses - and Bellerin. These are all players that have shown enough ability to come in young and establish themselves. Chambers has had chances and not looked especially solid. To say we don’t develop players is wide of the mark. Some just don’t achieve their potential.
We got him! :wilshere:
I’m glad that we are scooping up young talents but this guy really needs to play (he has about 25 first team appearances in his entire career) yet I can’t imagine him being anywhere close to ready to play for a club like Arsenal. Buying him and loaning him to a Championship club makes a lot of sense. Buying him and sticking him on the bench to keep Chambers company would be stupid.
I’ll give you Wilsh and Bellerin (kind of, Barca DNA). Ramsey is debateable he didn’t grow up here, but Theo lol…how has he developed? He’s seriously the same player as when he got here. Just because he has a big pay packet doesn’t mean he’s good.
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If anything we’re not doing that or have done that the past 4/5 years, not like we did in the past at least. The majority of this team has been assembled whilst they were older/established (Cech, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Cazorla, Ozil, Sanchez, Giroud).
Our youth projects in recent history have failed more than anything. Szczesny is gone, Gibbs is outplayed by Monreal. Chambers, Chamberlain and Wilshere can’t seem to get a foothold in the first eleven, not that there is a clear path for them either, and Walcott still has an awful (first) touch after eleven years with this club.
That just isn’t true, apart from what a shaky game against Liverpool he’s looked fine particularly against Leicester. After which he rewarded with a seat in the stands next to Luke Shaw who wasn’t playing because of a broken leg.
This is a signing similar to that of Chambers, as for you bringing up Walcott, Chamberlain, Wilshere and Bellerin three out of the four have only made incremental improvements as players during their tenure at the club, Wilshere partly down to injury but the fact remains in terms of youth development the record of the club isn’t exactly stellar.
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The issue I have is with how some of the support have been so duped in to thinking we’re some bastion of youth development and that we ‘give the kids a chance’. It’s just another example of the wool being pulled over the supporters eyes and people eat that crap up. If I were the Armory I’d be stocking the shelves with Arsenal branded prescription glasses because this fanbase is fucking blind.
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