Barnsley had a brilliant start to this Sky Bet Championship season although have just gone off the boil in recent weeks.

They currently find themselves sitting 13th place after picking up 6 wins from the opening 16 league games.

One of those wins being a fantastic 4-0 drubbing of South Yorkshire rivals Rotherham United at Oakwell.

Top Premier League clubs such as Arsenal have an abundance of young talent in their reserve and youth teams, and this is something that Football League clubs should look to tap into to.

Therefore, this article is going to take a look at TWO players that Barnsley should look to poach from Arsenal in January…

 

Rob Holding - Loan

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One player that Barnsley should look to pluck on loan from Arsenal is young centre half Rob Holding.

Holding signed for the Gunners this summer from Bolton Wanderers, and has already made 5 appearances for the first team and is clearly someone who is rated very highly by the coaching staff at the club.
The 21-year-old would benefit greatly from first team football week in, week out and it could therefore be mutually beneficial for club and player if Arsenal were to loan him out for the remainder of the season come January.

Holding is no stranger to the Championship as that was where he spent last season playing for Bolton Wanderers.

He made a total of 30 appearances for the club as they slumped to a disappointing relegation from England’s second tier.

Barnsley are short of options at centre back after they lost star man Alfie Mawson to Swansea late on in the summer transfer window, meaning Holding could be a very welcome addition down at Oakwell. .

Ainsley Maitland-Niles - Loan

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One player that Barnsley should definitely take a look into taking on loan is the midfield man Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

19-year-old midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles is rated very highly by all down at the Emirates Stadium, and has already played 6 times for the club’s senior team, with 2 of those appearances coming in the Premier League.

The young-man spent last year gaining first team experience on loan at Ipswich Town where he made over 30 appearances, scoring twice in the process.

He was not fazed by the physical, fast pace nature of the Championship and impressed many on lookers with his performances.

Maitland-Niles plays predominantly as a winger but can also play in the centre of midfield as well as in a number 10 role behind the striker.

Maitland-Niles would add another talented option for Paul Heckingbottom to chose from in midfield, and could prove to be a very astute signing should Barnsley chose to take a closer look at him.