Arsenal signing Rob Holding has named Rio Ferdinand, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, Tony Adams and Martin Keown among his idols.
The England U21 international, who signed for the Gunners from Bolton last month, was one of the highlights of the Gunners during their pre-season tour of the US.
"Growing up I liked to think I modelled my game on Rio Ferdinand, especially the way he played when he was in a partnership with Nemanja Vidic at Manchester United," Holding told Arsenal Player prior to the United States tour.
"I also watched Arsenal growing up and they had the likes of Tony Adams, Sol Campbell and Martin Keown who are all top-drawer centre halves that I admired and wanted to be like.
"I just liked how much of a leader they were on the pitch, Tony Adams especially. Sol Campbell was just a brick wall and you couldn't get around him.
"I was pretty limited to watching the Premier League. I'd say Carlos Puyol and Gerard Pique [were other players I admired] at Barcelona. They're two top-drawer centre halves and I like Sergio Ramos and Pepe at Real Madrid too."
