Scottish Premiership defending champions, Rangers, have dropped to second place after their defeat against Celtic. Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men made a comeback after winning the next two games in style. The manager made some changes to the starting XI and introduced Scott Arfield on the right side instead of the new signing, Amad Diallo. Rangers have struggled on the right side of the attack this season. Ianis Hagi was their main player on the right side, but the player will miss the remainder of the season. Rangers even tried to sign some players before Diallo’s arrival, but Manchester United’s youngsters were all they could manage. Scott Arfield has been identified as the player to solve their right-midfield issues.
The above heat map shows the positioning of the player in the last two matches. Rangers play in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Alfredo Morelos leading the attack, and he is supported by three players behind him. From the above viz, we can observe that Arfield likes to cut inside and doesn’t prefer to play wider. He has taken a few touches near the opposition’s penalty box and near the corner flag. The player provides less width to Rangers’ attack.
Scott Arfield has made 16 appearances for the Scottish giants this season and scored six goals. He has mostly featured in midfield three or towards the right side of midfield. The above shot map shows the shots attempted by the player in the last two games. Arfield has attempted four shots with a 50% shot accuracy rate. He has even scored a goal with an xG of 1.12. The Canadian international player has taken five touches inside the opposition’s penalty box.
The above visual shows the ‘pass start locations’ ofArfield this season. Arfield has mostly played from the right side, covering the midfield for his team. The highest threat is created by passes from the right and inside the opposition’s penalty box. Scott Arfield played in the right midfield position under Steven Gerrard as well. Arfield attempted 58 passes in the last two games. He was unable to deliver a cross but attempted three smart passes and through passes each. The xA rate created in the two matches was 0.47.
Scott Arfield will be out of contract in the summer. He brings a lot of experience to the table and has performed well in every position he has played in. The last two results ended in favor of the defending champions, and Giovanni van Bronckhorst might give him another chance in the same position.
