Rob Holding admits he sees Arsenal teammate David Luiz as a role model.

The Englishman was pleasantly stunned when Luiz, then at Chelsea , got in touch to wish him well in his ­rehabilitation after he ­suffered an awful knee ligament injury in ­December.

The boost Holding had from the Brazilian's text played a big part in him not getting too down ­during his days on the sidelines.

And it prompted the 24-year-old to message one or two others who were in a similar situation to his own.

He said: “I was never at England Under-21s with Lewis, but because we had the same injury at the same time and had ­surgery on the same day, we kept in touch with each other.

“When Sol Bamba, at Cardiff , got his injury I gave him a message, just because when I got ­injured I got random ­messages from players I had never met.

“David Luiz, funnily enough, ended up being here, but he messaged me out of the blue and I was a bit taken aback by that.

“He just said, 'It happens. You've got a great career ahead of you, just focus and you'll be good'.

“I felt like, 'If he's doing that for me, why can't I do that for someone else? It might just give them a ­little boost'. Philippe ­Senderos also got in touch, as did Ian Wright.

“The little Arsenal ­family came around and got around me. It's a nice little touch to give me that boost.

“When you go through an injury like that and you're out for nine or 10 months, rivalries are put aside and you get behind each other."

Holding added: “If I have half the career he has had, I'll be happy. He's a great, experienced head to have around and he's one of the nicest guys as well, who has come in and gathered the team around him.

“He's settled in and shared his experiences."