Rob Holding is likely to be available for sale this summer as Arsenal close in on the signing of Ben White from Brighton, according to reports.

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Rob Holding of Arsenal dejected during the Premier League match at Goodison Park, Liverpool. Picture date: 19th December 2020. Picture credit should read: Andrew Yates/Sportimage

The Times report that with Ben White edging towards completing his transfer to Arsenal this summer, Rob Holding is likely to be available for sale.

Reports on Thursday suggested Arsenal are closing in on the signing of White from Brighton, for an expected fee of around £50m. Although there’s still a £5m gap for the two clubs to bridge in negotiations, a consensus is now looking likely.

The signing obviously raises some questions about the current centre-backs at the club. Konstantinos Mavropanos is gone, but Arsenal still have Gabriel Magalhaes, Pablo Mari, William Saliba, and potentially Calum Chambers, as well as Holding.

Assuming Chambers is used at right-back, as he was last season, that still leaves five centre-backs if White arrives, which is probably one too many.

There’s been a lot of talk about Saliba’s future in that hypothetical scenario, but perhaps Holding is the player at risk. The signing of a younger right-centre-back who is homegrown and ahead of Holding in the England pecking order must feel a bit threatening.

It’s too soon to write Holding off just yet. He made 39 appearances last season, after all, so Mikel Arteta has shown plenty of faith in him in the past. Chris Wheatley claims the defender is ‘highly unlikely’ to be going anywhere.

But after he came so close to leaving last summer, you’d imagine anything is possible.