Mikel Arteta has revealed that he held transfer talks with Rob Holding over the summer.
The 25-year-old played in the FA Cup final win over Chelsea in August, but was linked with a move to Newcastle due the surplus of centre backs at Arsenal.
However, the Englishman has impressed this campaign playing more minutes than any other central defender and even captaining the Gunners against Everton.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Arsenal's third round clash with the Magpies on Sunday, Arteta revealed how close Holding came to leaving the club over the summer.
"It's true that in the summer he came to me because we had a large amount of central defenders, he wasn't sure about how many minutes he was going to have," said the Spaniard.
"And we stopped him going anywhere because we knew he was going to be an important player for us."
Holding had established himself as a key member of the team in Unai Emery's first season in charge only for an ACL injury at Old Trafford to rule him out for almost a year.
Saturday's third round clash will represent almost a full circle in his rehabilitation from that injury, and Arteta was keen to draw attention to that, praising the 25-year-old's character in ensuring he was able to get back to his best.
"Yeah well, it was almost a year ago when he came back from his injury," he said. "He had a period where he didn't play and they he played against Leeds at home.
"When you compare how he has evolved from there in a year's time it's incredible. It's down to him. How professional he is, how much he wants to learn, how much he puts that into every training session and then his character and his personality.
"He's growing in every aspect and I'm really happy with him."
When asked to explain why he has played so much this season Arteta revealed that his temperament and performances on the pitch have made the former Bolton defender impossible to ignore.
"Well, it's what I see on a daily basis from him," he said. "As well the room that he still has for improvement, his age, and I really like what I see. He has earned that right himself.
"It's true that there have been many other conditions for him to play that many minutes because we have had injuries we have had other issues.
"But he has earned that right and I think nobody can question that. When he has played he has done really well."
