da poker： Steve Howey has described Rob Holding as nothing more than a decent defender – and wasn’t impressed by his display against Chelsea last weekend following his links with Newcastle.

da pinup bet： Having been an unused substitute at Brentford on the opening day, Holding replaced the absent Ben White in the side against the European Champions on Sunday.

However, the 25-year-old centre-back endured a tough afternoon against Romelu Lukaku, whose pace and power proved far too much for Holding and his partner Pablo Mari.

He was linked with a loan move to St James’ Park last summer but stayed put at the Emirates, but with Steve Bruce’s side suffering defensively, Holding is once more being touted as someone that could solve some of Newcastle’s problems having conceded six times in their opening two Premier League games.

Football.London, though, believe that Mikel Arteta wants to keep Holding in north London, which will be music to the ears of former defender Howey.

He exclusively told Football FanCast:

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“I watched the game against Chelsea and neither him nor Mari could handle Lukaku – it was a man against two boys. I think he’s a decent defender, but I think Newcastle need somebody like Vestergaard.”