Scott Arfield eager to pile pressure on Malik Tillman at Rangers as selection battle heats up
Scott Arfield scored two late goals against Aberdeen on Tuesday night and the 34-year-old is keen to push for a starting spot at Rangers.
If it wasn’t for Arfield, Michael Beale will have suffered his first defeat as Rangers manager this week. The senior midfielder came off the bench against Aberdeen and scored twice in the 95th and 97th minute to secure a 3-2 win.
It was a remarkable turnaround for Rangers, and Beale now faces a selection headache over whether to start Arfield or not against Ross County on Friday night.
Speaking about his battle for game time, Arfield was the first to admit that his age is an obvious factor in his lack of game time, but Arfield also spoke about piling pressure on teammate Malik Tillman as he competes for more minutes.
“It’s always a challenge to play first-team football,” said Arfield, as quoted by The Scotsman.
“You get to an age where you start to see football differently. You obviously want to play every game but you also appreciate the talent and the ability the other guy has, particularly in that midfield area.
“It’s only really myself and Malik that fill that role so it’s only going to be one of us. It’s important I keep putting pressure on him because that will help take his game to the next level.”
Invaluable experience
It’s easy to look at Arfield, take one glance at his age and suggest he needs to be sold in the summer. This Rangers squad is ageing and needs an overhaul, and a 34-year-old midfielder is a weak point many would point out.
But while Arfield may not be able to offer his services on the pitch for 90 minutes every week, his experience and wisdom off the pitch is so important to the dressing room dynamic.
Just going off his latest comments it’s clear that Arfield is still hungry to play more, but is also so invested in improving the younger players in the squad.
Tillman’s potential is clear to see and Arfield has taken it upon himself to push and pressure the 20-year-old into becoming a better player.
On top of that, Arfield’s impact from the bench has never been more obvious. He can flip a game on its head coming on as a substitute and that’s an important asset to Beale. Perhaps there is a future for Arfield at Ibrox.
In other Rangers news, Connor Goldson takes a blatant swipe at Giovanni van Bronckhorst after the Aberdeen victory