Holding’s injury blow offers Mavropanos a chance to establish himself at Arsenal

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Rob Holding’s impressive season has been cut short by a knee injury sustained in Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at Old Trafford, which will keep him out for up to nine months.

Unai Emery has shown immense faith in the Englishman in his attempts to freshen up his Arsenal backline in the absence of captain Laurent Koscielny, sticking by him even despite some early struggles.

That’s why the loss of Holding will be such a blow and Emery must now turn to his ranks to get him through to January at the very least.

If the Spaniard is looking for a Holding replacement, Konstantinos Mavropanos has been waiting patiently for a chance and could well be that man.

The 20-year-old stands at 6ft 4in, so he has the physical stature to mix it in the Premier League and impressed against Manchester United when given the opportunity last season.

Emery has already showcased his ability to improve a young defender at Arsenal and if he can do the same for Mavropanos then he can replace Holding without needing to dip into the transfer market, which is notoriously short on value for money in the January scramble.