Arsenal are expecting Rob Holding to face Everton u23s on Friday with the defender reportedly penciled in to play the full 90 minutes.

Rob Holding has not played for the senior Arsenal team since his knee popped in December and it could be argued that his loss to injury had much more of an affect on the team than anyone else’s. Arsenal were unbeaten in the 16 games the 23-year-old played.

Well on the comeback trail, Holding has already played 63 minutes for the u23s against Blackburn 10 days ago.

The latest Arsenal update on Holding stated that he continues to train with the first-team.

In other injury news, Granit Xhaka is expected to be declared fit for the game against Liverpool after suffering a back problem that ruled him out of Arsenal’s game against Burnley last weekend.

The Swiss midfielder returned to full training this week.

Arsenal’s u23s play Everton u23s on Friday at the Emirates Stadium with a 7pm (UK) kick-off.