Rob Holding has revealed the details of a phone call he had with Mikel Arteta after the centre-back agreed to leave the club for Crystal Palace.

Rob Holding, a former defender for Arsenal, spent a lengthy time with the Gunners before leaving the team for Crystal Palace during the summer.

Holding joined Arsenal from Bolton Wanderers in 2016, and over his seven seasons with the team, he made 162 appearances under Arsene Wenger’s leadership.

When it became apparent that the team was moving in a different direction, Holding switched from Arsenal to Palace.

Last week, the defender discussed an exchange he had with Mikel Arteta on Harry Aikines’ YouTube channel.

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Holding recalls, “He actually called me when I was leaving and just said like, ‘Thank you for everything, like you were there from the start of his reign at Arsenal till the end.'” (via TBR).

It was pleasant because you don’t often get that. Since he’s a pretty passionate

guy, it was good to just have a casual talk with him and feel like I have his approval.

“I was like ‘you know what, I’m glad you’ve said that because it did make me feel good’.”

Holding is still off to a slow start at Crystal Palace, having had a difficult time fitting in during his rookie campaign.

After joining Palace, the defender was a regular in every squad for the first ten

games. However, he only appeared on the field once, during a League Cup match against Manchester United.

Holding has been entirely removed from the squad ever since.

Holding is presently injured, as Roy Hodgson stated in a press conference last

week, although it’s unclear if he will be participating in games when he gets well.