DAVID LUIZ sent Rob Holding a classy message of support, months before joining Arsenal from Chelsea. Holding has recently recovered from an awful knee injury he picked up against Manchester United during a collision with Marcus Rashford last December. Rob Holding was carried off in December’s game at Old Trafford last season with a cruciate […]
DAVID LUIZ sent Rob Holding a classy message of support, months before joining Arsenal from Chelsea.
Holding has recently recovered from an awful knee injury he picked up against Manchester United during a collision with Marcus Rashford last December.
Rob Holding was carried off in December’s game at Old Trafford last season with a cruciate ligament injury.
Then-Chelsea defender Luiz was one of a raft of players to get in touch with Holding, including Bournemouth’s Lewis Cook and Gunners legend Ian Wright.
After a 10-month injury lay-off, the defender, 24, played 90 minutes in the Gunners’ 5-0 win against Nottingham Forest and again in their 4-0 victory over Standard Liege.
And Luiz, 32, is now his team-mate after an £8million switch from Stamford Bridge.
Holding said: “I was never at England Under-21s with Lewis, but because we had the same injury at the same time and had surgery on the same day, we kept in touch with each other.
“When Sol Bamba, at Cardiff, got his injury I gave him a message, just because when I got injured I got random messages from players I had never met.
“David Luiz, funnily enough, ended up being here, but he messaged me out of the blue and I was a bit taken aback by that.
“He just said, ‘It happens. You’ve got a great career ahead of you, just focus and you’ll be good’.
“I felt like, ‘If he’s doing that for me, why can’t I do that for someone else? It might just give them a little boost’.
“Philippe Senderos also got in touch, as did Ian Wright.
He’s a great, experienced head to have around and he’s one of the nicest guys as well, who has come in and gathered the team around him.
Rob Holding on David Luiz
“The little Arsenal family came around and got around me. It’s a nice little touch to give me that boost.”
Holding went through much of his recovery with Spanish right-back Hector Bellerin, who is now back in the first team.
But the former Bolton star is glad defensive rival Luiz is now in the same squad as him.
He added: “When you go through an injury like that and you’re out for nine or 10 months, rivalries are put aside and you get behind each other.
“If I have half the career he has had, I’ll be happy.
“He’s a great, experienced head to have around and he’s one of the nicest guys as well, who has come in and gathered the team around him.
“He’s settled in and shared his experiences.”
