Mikel Arteta and Arsenal are looking to raise funds from player sales too boost their transfer funds (Picture: Getty)
Arsenal are set to reject a £2.5million bid from Besiktas for long-serving defender Rob Holding.
The 27-year-old joined the Gunners as an almost total unknown from Bolton in the summer of 2016.
Arsene Wenger infamously defended his signing after he turned in an impressive display against the champions Leicester by apologising for the fact Holding did not cost £50million, the same fee Manchester City paid for John Stones.
Holding suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury halfway through Unai Emery’s only full season in charge of the Gunners and, in truth, has struggled to deliver on his early promise ever since returning to full fitness.
Arteta opted to parachute Holding back into his central defence during the run-in last season following an injury to William Saliba, but the centre-half’s return coincided with a poor run of results that ultimately cost Arsenal the title.
Rob Holding appears almost certain to leave Arsenal this summer (Picture: Getty)
The return to fitness of Takehiro Tomiyau and imminent arrival of Jurrien Timber is set to intensify the competition for places next season, however, and Arsenal are looking to cash in on Holding an raise funds for additional signings.
Besiktas’ opening offer, however, falls way below Arsenal’s valuation of a player who, although only having one year left on his contract, boasts a wealth of Premier League experience.
Holding, meanwhile, came on as a late substitute last night as Arsenal began their pre-season campaign with a 1-1 draw against Nurnberg.
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‘There are a lot of positive things that we can take, especially the way we played in the first half – the tempo, the composure, the commitment that we showed,’ said Arteta reflecting on the performance.
‘We had some big chances to score more goals at the end, and mistakes are a part of football because they haven’t given much to be fair, but it was great to see our young players playing as well and doing really well in an environment that is challenging.
‘We only had three training sessions with the majority of this group and the boys that played only 45 minutes, it was the maximum for some of them – it was more than enough. We picked up a few injuries which we want to avoid, so let’s go week by week now.’
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Surely he is worth more than this!
