Ibrox View: Stunning moment shares reminder of Rangers ace ability amid goalscoring flak
Joe Aribo is a player that has divided fan opinion with his silky skills often not being reflected in his attacking output for Rangers.
Before Ross County visited Ibrox on Saturday Aribo only had four goals to his name alongside two assists, a fairly paltry return given his talents and the Gers dominance in the Scottish Premiership this season.
He recently admitted himself that this return was not good enough and sparked a meeting with boss Steven Gerrard on how he can improve on this lowly total.
This discussion seems to have paid instant dividends as Aribo produced a brilliant finish to score the third goal in a 5-0 rout over Ross County on Saturday.
The Nigeria international drifted to the right-hand side of the pitch and jinked his way past a couple of County defenders before unleashing a stunning strike into the far corner of the goal to really put the contest out of sight before half-time.
It was exactly what fans are demanding of Aribo and he showed why there is so much expectation on him with this brilliant solo effort.
He was withdrawn on the hour mark with Gerrard opting to give a host of fringe players the opportunity to impress with the game all but over.
But Aribo still managed to produce a game-high statistic of four completed dribbles [WhoScored], a sharp contrast to the single one he managed in the 1-1 draw at Pittodrie in the Gers previous fixture.
This shows that Aribo was playing with absolute freedom and this may be in part to a slight change in position.
Per Wyscout, Gerrard has generally favoured a 4-3-3 formation in the Premiership this season selecting this 69% of the time with Aribo, Steven Davis and Glen Kamara the favoured trio of late with the absences of Ryan Jack and Scott Arfield.
The 4-2-3-1 formation is used a lot less (16%) but it was this system that was deployed by Gerrard on Saturday and it seemed to free Aribo from the shackles of a deeper starting position.
He is used to playing further up the field which he has done to good effect for the Light Blues and previous club Charlton Athletic, popping up on the right hand side or behind the striker.
It allows him to get closer to goal and showcase his brilliant close control in tight areas of the pitch and it is no coincidence that this slight change of position resulted in his first goal since November 8.
The Gers have their favoured formation and it is has served them so well this season as they remain unbeaten in 25 Premiership games, but perhaps this is an indicator that they could change it with more regularity.
It certainly seemed to help Aribo bag an all-important goal and it was an accomplished performance from all as they over-powered the visitors.
Perhaps it was indeed the positional change, or maybe it was the wise words from the gaffer, but Aribo’s goal against Ross County served as a reminder of his abilities and Rangers fans should expect to see much more of this during the remainder of this camaign.
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