BENJAMIN ARTHUR SETS HIS SIGHTS ON IBROX
- By LIAM McBRIDE
- 11 minutes ago
- 3 min read
It’s quarter to eight on a breezy Wednesday evening in Aberdeen. Benjamin Arthur is warming up as a substitute for Celtic’s league trip to Pittodrie. Since signing on loan from Brentford, he has seen just sixteen minutes of gametime. Another session of benchwarming seemingly awaits.
During the warm-up though, Dane Murray pulls up with a thigh injury. The 22-year-old made a horror mistake to gift Rangers their second at the weekend but recovered well to a convincing performance in the second half. His forced absence is the last thing Celtic need, already being short in that area due to the long term injury of Cameron Carter-Vickers. Nevertheless, Harper takes to the field alongside Liam Scales.
Benjamin Arthur Stakes His Claim for Cup Game Start
In the end, he didn’t look a tad out of place. His aerial presence was strong, consistently able to clear long balls with imposing headers. Moreover, he was so comfortable on the ball, completing 73 out of 80 passes.
Plus, there was just such a calm presence. Centre-backs in the past have sometimes looked a little rushed or uncomfortable on their debut, even ones that have proved to be good signings. Yet, the Englishman cut an assured figure throughout the match, seemingly never leaving second gear.
He told Sky Sports,
“I was just warming up, I was on the bench and stuff and then saw Dane came down, straight away in just like that, so quickly football can change.
You never know what's going to happen out there on the pitch, so you got to be mentally prepared for anything and I felt like I was that today and performance hopefully showed that as well.”
Yet, make no mistake about it, Arthur was drafted as a stopgap solution to the centre-back crisis. The 20-year-old made just one professional appearance in a Carabao Cup win against Aston Villa earlier this season for the Bees. With Jamaih Simpson-Pusey’s loan being cut short after a lack of gametime in green and white, it seemed that Arthur simply his place as the last-resort stand-in.
Since leaving Celtic, Simpson-Pusey has started five straight games for Bundesliga outfit Koln. He became the latest in a long line of centre-backs who have failed to make the grade in the East End of Glasgow. Since Carl Starfelt left in the summer of 2023, the Champions have recruited Gustaf Lagerbielke, Maik Nawrocki, Auston Trusty and Hayato Inamura (a combined £13.7 million) on permanent deals, with Nat Philips, Simpson-Pusey and Arthur joining on loan.
Many have outright failed, while the likes of Trusty’s merit remains debatable, considering the £6 million price tag. When Cameron Carter-Vickers returns from fitness, he will likely pair with Liam Scales. The Irishman has cemented a place in the starting lineup since spending a season on loan at Aberdeen three seasons ago. Yet, come July, when it’s time to talk transfer strategy, you suspect the Champions will still be looking to upgrade in that department. Simply put, like many of the areas of on-field recruitment, Celtic have consistently come up short.
Anyhow, as mentioned, Arthur showed some really positive signs on Wednesday night, which makes a possible start at Ibrox a little more comforting for the Celtic faithful. Although Trusty, whose three-game suspension doesn’t carry over to the domestic cup tie, will likely join Scales.
Needless to say, the start will be vital. Whenever a Celtic team goes to Ibrox, an early onslaught is inevitable. An aggressive home crowd will fuel the fire, as Rangers will look to go long early and pepper the Celtic box. While the Hoops survived last week, they cannot leave themselves another mountain to climb. They must weather the early storm and settle into the game.
After all, while this is far from a vintage Celtic side, make no mistake, they do have more technically gifted players throughout the pitch. As Callum McGregor put it, “Rangers wanted to be physical. We turned it into a football match.”
Not only is Sunday massive in terms of the outlook of the rest of the season, but it will be a fascinating tactical battle to see which team is able to impose their style of play.