Arsenal star closing in on £4m move from the Gunners to London rivals - Reports

Arsenal defender Rob Holding is reportedly close to sealing a move to London rivals Crystal Palace.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reports that Holding is undergoing a medical ahead of a £4 million transfer to Selhurst Park. The English defender had proposals from La Liga clubs but preferred the Eagles.

The 27-year-old looks set to end his seven-year stay at Arsenal where he has often been a backup option for the Gunners' defense. He was handed that role again last season, featuring 24 times across competitions, helping his side keep seven clean sheets. He also chipped in with two goals but that looks like his final campaign at the Emirates.

Holding came in for the injured William Saliba in the season's latter stages. However, Mikel Arteta has a healthy list of options in central defense following the signings of Jakub Kiwior and Jurrien Timber.

The English defender is yet to play this season and is now on the cusp of heading to Palace. He will expect more game time under Roy Hodgson and his experience could be valuable for the Eagles.

Holding joined Arsenal back in 2016 from Bolton Wanderers for £2.5 million. He has made 162 appearances for the Gunners, winning the FA Cup twice.

---

Arsenal are losing a popular dressing room figure as Rob Holding departs

Rob Holding (left) was well-liked by his Gunners teammates.

Although Holding wasn't always handed the amount of game time he perhaps desired, he was still an influence in the dressing room. Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney claimed last season that the Englishman was a positive character who helped encourage players who were lacking confidence. He said:

"Seriously (he is) the best guy on the team, helps everyone when they’re down, and it speaks volumes because he can go through tough times himself, and he still wants to help everybody else."

Tierney isn't the only Gunners player to speak highly of Holding's characteristics as William Saliba dubbed him as one of the funniest players in the squad. He has shown his positive attitude on the pitch when handed minutes by Arteta.

However, Holding made it clear last season that he did want more game time and didn't want to end his career viewed as a bit-part player. He said (via The Athletic):

“I don’t want to look back on my career and think, ‘Oh, yeah, I played really great in the last 10 minutes of games.’ I don’t want to be known as ‘the 5-3-2 defender that comes on and sees out games.’"

The English defender will likely now get a prominent role in Palace's side. He will hope to rival Joachim Anderson and Marc Guehi for a starting berth under Hodgson.