Back in May, Rangers announced a new 12-month deal for Scott Arfield in a move that some felt wasn’t quite merited with the team needing to move on.
However, as evidenced on Saturday at Livingston, Scott Arfield still has plenty to offer.
With a flick of the head and his trademark salute, the visitors were back in the game and would go on to win it thanks to another wonder strike from the captain, James Tavernier.
⏪ Moments before that stunning strike from Tavernier, here's how @RangersFC drew level at Livingston through substitute Scott Arfield! pic.twitter.com/JrgefE477o
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) July 30, 2022
In recent weeks, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s squad has been transformed with seven new arrivals. Three defenders in the form of John Souttar, Ben Davies and Ridvan Yilmaz have been joined by four attacking players, Antonio Colak, Tom Lawrence, Malik Tillman and Rabbi Matondo.
In terms of those players tasked with making and scoring the goals, three of the four featured yesterday, with Matondo ruled out due to a minor injury. Lawrence and Colak didn’t quite have a full impact on the game whilst the signing from Bayern Munich impressed late on.
Following a dreadful first half with the Gers trailing, it was left to the old guard to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. The chances started to come and eventually Rangers found a way. The equaliser arrived from Arfield in a very familiar way, making a run across the near post with the awareness and ability to find the far corner.
From there, the visitors were well placed to go on and win and that is exactly what happened.
Arfield as well as Steven Davis in a similar profile, will still contribute plenty for the team this season. With the new signings finding their way and absences for different reasons to be expected, the squad will be needed. Yes, there is a need to blood and play the likes of Alex Lowry and Charlie McCann when they are ready, but yesterday was the perfect example of the value of Arfield.
He has nothing at all to prove but still plenty to give.