"He is a Championship defender" - Gabby Agbonlahor takes brutal dig at Arsenal star following recent performances

Former Premier League forward Gabriel Agbonlahor has opined that Rob Holding is not good enough to be the third-choice central defender for Arsenal.

The Gunners were in cruise control at the start of the month, seemingly on their way to winning their first Premier League title since 2004. However, the past few weeks have been far from ideal for them, having failed to win their past three games. Mikel Arteta's side were held to draws against Liverpool, West Ham United and Southampton in those games.

Many fans believe these results highlight William Saliba's importance to Arsenal and their title push this term. The defender has missed the team's past five league games due to a back injury.

Holding, who replaced Saliba in the starting lineup, has struggled to replicate the Frenchman's level of performance. The north London giants have notably conceded nine goals in their past five league games with no clean sheets.

Agbonlahor has now launched an attack on Holding, saying that the 27-year-old is a Championship-level defender. The former Aston Villa captain added that the centre-back is not good enough for a team that aspires to win the league.

"You look at Holding. For me, he is a Championship defender," Agbonlahor said on talkSPORT (via HITC). "Not good enough to be the third-choice centre-half for a team who want to win the title."

Holding has made 22 appearances across competitions for the Gunners this term, scoring once and helping the team keep seven clean sheets.

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Arsenal risk losing lead to Manchester City

Arsenal remain atop the Premier League with 75 points from 32 games. However, dropping six points in their past three outings could soon prove to be costly in the title race.

Manchester City could go above Mikel Arteta's side if they win their two games in hand. The north London giants also have a trip to the Etihad Stadium coming up on Wednesday (April 26).

The Gunners face Chelsea, Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion after their visit to Manchester. They then lock horns with Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers in their last two games of the season.

Arteta will hope to have first-choice defender Saliba back for the run-in. However, it is unclear when the former Saint-Etienne man will regain full fitness and return to action.

Manchester City, meanwhile, have been in red-hot form recently, winning their past six league games. They have also qualified for the semifinals and finals of the UEFA Champions League and FA Cup, respectively.