Off the bench with an immediate impact and his first goal of the season – Scott Arfield sent a message yesterday that he still has a vital role to play for Rangers.
His late second half cameo was a very welcome one as it showed the best of the former Burnley and Falkirk man.
The ball was won in the visitors half thanks to an aggressive intervention by fellow sub, John Lundstram who played a one-two with Alfredo Morelos.
A couple of passes later it was Arfield who released Morelos and the Canada international continued his run into the box – then Ross County ‘keeper Laidlaw could only parry Morelos’ drive and Arfield was on hand to convert for Rangers fourth of the game and his opener for the season.
The midfielder has featured already for Rangers this season but hasn’t quite made the desired impact.
Whilst he isn’t likely to start many games as a first choice, he still remains a crucial option for Steven Gerrard to call upon when required.
The game in Dingwall showed exactly what Arfield is capable of, with such late runs into the box being a feature of his time at Ibrox.
SCOTTY ARFIELD 🕺 pic.twitter.com/NjkdeGkJfJ
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) August 22, 2021
Attack
Joe Aribo also stepped up yesterday with important attacking contributions including his stunning solo curling effort into the top left corner of the net to open the scoring.
The Nigeria international demonstrated his potential once again but this is what we need to see more of – if he can add further consistency and application to his game, he will really stamp his influence on this Rangers team.
That can be supplemented with the likes of Arfield chipping in with a few goals and assists from the bench and is what others in the squad need to implement to support the big hitters like Morelos and Kemar Roofe in attack.
He may now be 32 and in the last year of his contract but Scott Arfield still has a role to play before his Ibrox career comes to an end.
More of the same and that salute, please.