Charlie Nicholas blasts Rangers star Joe Aribo over lack of form
Joe Aribo has to step up for Rangers against Red Star Belgrade as he has not produced anywhere near his early-season form says Charlie Nicholas.
Gers face Red Star Belgrade on Thursday night (10 March) in the Europa League, and the ex-Sky Sports pundit believes they will need the midfield man to put in a performance that made him “player of the season” before he went to the Africa Cup of Nations in January.
The Nigerian has been virtually ever-present in the side since he returned, but has not shown his best form consistently, as the squad has struggled at times domestically.
Writing in his Scottish Daily Express column, the former Celtic man said of the tie: “I do think it is a night where [Ryan] Kent or Joe Aribo has to produce.
“I can see Kent and Alfredo Morelos both having an appetite for this game.
“It is also time Rangers got a performance out of Aribo again because he hasn’t kicked his own backside since he has returned from the Africa Cup of Nations.
“Up to that point, he had been the player of the season but that is now up to debate.”
Malaise
Outside of the two sparkling displays against Borussia Dortmund in the previous round of the competition, the stand-outs from the squad have been few and far between.
Morelos has largely been in great form, and Kent has been terrifying defences for the the most part.
But otherwise one player steps up one week, and then goes off the boil for a couple of games, while various others do the same in turn.
The likes of Ryan Jack, James Tavernier and Calvin Bassey were all excellent in Europe, without dominating consistently in the league.
So it is certainly true that Aribo has only shown his ability in fits and starts in a Light Blue shirt since the turn of the year, but it seems to be a squad-wide issue.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst has stuck with his main men to a fault, and he could do with a few of them paying him back for the last-16 clash.
In other Rangers news, the club have been accused of becoming “arrogant” following victory over the “millionaires” of Dortmund.