Former Arsenal star Rob Holding revealed the reason behind his shocking departure to Crystal Palace and also named the ONLY two Arsenal players that cared for him.

“I never thought I’d be fired from Arsenal after only seven years,” the player said. “At Crystal Palace, I’m only trying to sound like TWO legendary Arsenal players.”- Rob Holding, a former Arsenal star, has revealed the startling reason behind his departure for Crystal Palace as well as the ONE AND ONLY TWO Arsenal players who showed him support.

At Crystal Palace, Rob Holding names the two former Arsenal teammates he wants to emulate.

In the same manner that two previous Arsenal captains inspired his younger Crystal Palace teammates, Rob Holding intends to do the same.

The defender finished a seven-year stay in north London on deadline day when he transferred from the Emirates to Selhurst Park. During that time, he made 162 appearances across all competitions and claimed two FA Cups.

He played alongside several Gunners legends and notable club captains, like Granit Xhaka, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Martin Odegaard, throughout that time and served as captain of his team multiple times.

Holding, who is among the Palace group’s more seasoned players in terms of age and experience playing European football, wants to serve as a leader for his new squad. The two former captains he learned the most from were Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny.

The center-back told talkSPORT, “I’ve got a lot of experience, I’m 28 now, and they’ve got a young team at Palace, some new boys coming through.”

When I first entered the locker room and saw guys like Mertesacker and Koscielny, I immediately realized they are merely leaders. This is one of the many small lessons I’ve learned from my time at Arsenal.

I can do that if I can transfer any knowledge I got from them to the Palace boys who are currently a little younger.

With an average starting XI age of little over 27, the Eagles are tied for third-oldest in the Premier League with Newcastle and just behind Fulham and West Ham.

However, a number of Roy Hodgson’s key players are on the younger side, most notably Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi, and Michael Olise.

In the summer Holding joined the team, Mertesacker took over as the new captain of Arsenal, replacing the retiring Mikel Arteta. The World Cup champion is now the academy manager for the team.

After the German retired, Koscielny took over as captain for one season before abruptly departing the team to join Bordeaux, where he will remain until his retirement in 2022.

Holding has only played once for Palace, a 3-0 defeat to Manchester United in the Carabao Cup, but he might make his league debut against Newcastle on Saturday.