Rob Holding on Arsenal future, cancelled Newcastle loan & leadership honed at Bolton Wanderers

Former Bolton defender Rob Holding has opened up on the leadership qualities he honed at Wanderers he is now putting to good use at Arsenal and how a loan move to Newcastle United did not come to pass.

The 26-year-old came through the ranks at Wanderers and made a total of 30 appearances for the club during the 2015/16 season, scoring once against MK Dons. His performances then earned him a move to Arsenal in the summer of 2016 for an initial reported fee of around £2m.

Holding has gone on to make 138 appearances for the Gunners and score three goals. He has won the both the FA Cup and the Community Shield on two occasions during his time in North London.

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Holding will soon be embarking on his seventh season with Arsenal and is one of the longer serving players in Mikel Arteta's squad. A new captain is anticpated soon at the Emirates Stadium, with Martin Odegaard the likely candidate for the armband.

But Holding opened up on his own leadership qualities and the captain's armband he wore throughout his time at Wanderers when coming through the youth team ranks. It is something he hopes helps others to learn and develop by following his example.

He told The Athletic : “It’s (leadership) followed me around from when I was at Bolton, really. Through the age groups, I was always a captain of the team. It’s been a blessing and sometimes been a curse — you’re sort of expected to be the one that steps up, even though you’ve not been chosen to be the one.

“It means setting the standards, doing things right — don’t be doing anything stupid, messing up or being late. It’s just simple stuff.

“It should just be a given. That’s how I