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Wanderers will benefit financially after Rob Holding made his Champions League debut for Arsenal on Tuesday night.
The former academy star, who signed a bonus-heavy contract with the Gunners last summer, featured in a 4-1 win at Basle.
His start is understood to have triggered a payment to the Whites, which comes at a handy time for the club, with finances still somewhat uncertain amid Ken Anderson’s attempt to become sole owner.
Holding signed for Arsenal for an undisclosed fee but reports at the time claimed a £2million payment had been made up front.
Further bonuses were quickly paid as he made his debut for England Under-21s in last summer’s victorious Toulon Tournament and then made a surprise start against Liverpool on the opening day of the season.
Since then he has struggled to hold down a regular place in the side, falling behind Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny in the pecking order.
But the 21-year-old, who played just one full season for Wanderers before his move to the Emirates, accepts there is a great deal of competition within the squad
“We’ve got a great squad here with options in every position and all the players who stepped in produced a good performance,” he said after the victory in Switzerland, which helped Arsenal top their group.
“All we can do is our best each time we’re picked and I think we’ve done that.”
Wanderers returned to training yesterday to begin preparations for Monday’s home game against Gillingham – and a busy festive fixture list which pits them against Chesterfield, Shrewsbury, Scunthorpe and Coventry City.
“I love this time of year,” said centre-half David Wheater. “The games come thick and fast and by the end of Christmas you look at the table and know pretty much who’s going to be up there.
“Our aim is to stay in that top two and then have a really good go at promotion. I think we have got the quality of squad to do that.”
Wanderers’ squad went on their Christmas party in London after Sunday’s 3-2 FA Cup second-round win against Sheffield United but now the serious work begins.
“The gaffer said we deserved to go and have a couple of days to blow off some steam and, honestly, I’ve never been on a Christmas do like it,” Wheater said. “Usually there are little groups, cliques, but we were all in. It was a great do and it shows you how together this bunch really is.”
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The former academy star, who signed a bonus-heavy contract with the Gunners last summer, featured in a 4-1 win at Basle.
His start is understood to have triggered a payment to the Whites, which comes at a handy time for the club, with finances still somewhat uncertain amid Ken Anderson’s attempt to become sole owner.
Holding signed for Arsenal for an undisclosed fee but reports at the time claimed a £2million payment had been made up front.
Further bonuses were quickly paid as he made his debut for England Under-21s in last summer’s victorious Toulon Tournament and then made a surprise start against Liverpool on the opening day of the season.
Since then he has struggled to hold down a regular place in the side, falling behind Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny in the pecking order.
But the 21-year-old, who played just one full season for Wanderers before his move to the Emirates, accepts there is a great deal of competition within the squad
“We’ve got a great squad here with options in every position and all the players who stepped in produced a good performance,” he said after the victory in Switzerland, which helped Arsenal top their group.
“All we can do is our best each time we’re picked and I think we’ve done that.”
Wanderers returned to training yesterday to begin preparations for Monday’s home game against Gillingham – and a busy festive fixture list which pits them against Chesterfield, Shrewsbury, Scunthorpe and Coventry City.
“I love this time of year,” said centre-half David Wheater. “The games come thick and fast and by the end of Christmas you look at the table and know pretty much who’s going to be up there.
“Our aim is to stay in that top two and then have a really good go at promotion. I think we have got the quality of squad to do that.”
Wanderers’ squad went on their Christmas party in London after Sunday’s 3-2 FA Cup second-round win against Sheffield United but now the serious work begins.
“The gaffer said we deserved to go and have a couple of days to blow off some steam and, honestly, I’ve never been on a Christmas do like it,” Wheater said. “Usually there are little groups, cliques, but we were all in. It was a great do and it shows you how together this bunch really is.”
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