Scott Arfield may have played his final Rangers game as future looks bleak under Michael Beale
Since Michael Beale arrived at Ibrox at the back end of 2022, there have been plenty of changes at Rangers that have seen them get back on track.
First there was the style of play, to go with the fact he brought back suits for home games and the belief of fans in the stands after a torrid time under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
But the return to fitness and form of several key players since his return is what most have noticed, and it likely means the end of one career at Rangers is likely.
One of the most memorable moments for Rangers since the season resumed after the World Cup was the comeback win against Aberdeen just before Christmas, where veteran ace Scott Arfield grabbed an injury time brace to seal all three points.
Since that game Arfield has featured in four more games, playing for 67 minutes against Ross County, 19 minutes against Dundee United, just injury time against Aberdeen in the Scottish League Cup, and then 90 minutes against Kilmarnock.
That last appearance came on January 21th, and since then he hasn’t featured for a single minute in any game.
In fact, since then Rangers have played four games and he hasn’t even made the match day squad in two of them.
With the January arrivals of Todd Cantwell and Nicolas Raskin, Arfield fell further down the pecking order under Beale. But there is also the fact that Alex Lowry is very much in Beale’s plans, while Ianis Hagi is set to return from over a year out with a knee injury.
With all of those problems ahead of him, plus the good form of current regular starters Fashion Sakala Jr and Malik Tillman, it’s very possible that we have already seen the last of Scott Arfield.
Beale has opted for playing strong sides even in the cup games up to this point, meaning opportunities for Arfield are likely to be limited and as more players get fitter his chances of even making the bench are slim.
A new contract at this point looks highly unlikely, and it could be that Arfield doesn’t get the chance to wear the blue shirt again in his career.
In other Rangers news, there are “serious doubts” over the fitness of one striker for the Viaplay Cup final against Celtic.