Colin Armstrong, Ross Bennett and David Fraser discussed all things Rangers on the latest edition of the Gersnet podcast and during the show, Bennett spent some time talking about Joe Aribo.
It may be fair to say that Aribo produced a positive performance in Rangers’ 1-0 win over Aberdeen last Saturday. According to WhoScored, no Rangers player completed more dribbles (four) or made more key passes (three) than Aribo did against Aberdeen. The 24-year-old also earned the second-highest average overall rating (7.94) of any Rangers player last Saturday.
Aribo has played in a variety of different positions since moving to Ibrox last summer. As per Transfermarkt, he has been deployed as a central midfielder, as well as a defensive midfielder and an attacking midfielder. The £900k-rated player has also played in wider roles on either side of the pitch during his time at Ibrox.
Bennett discussed Aribo’s versatility during this recent edition of the Gersnet podcast, saying: “Aribo, in a way, sometimes is kind of a victim of his own versatility because he’ll be asked to fill in here and there – wherever he’s needed.
“We’ve seen him playing left-back because we needed him to, we’ve seen him play more defensive midfield and breaking up play and intercepting passes when we need him to. So, he’s a bit of a victim in a way because he’s not always going to be given that top of the diamond, free rein kind of role which he clearly enjoys playing.”
Is Aribo better in defensive midfield, attacking midfield or out wide?
DEFENSIVE MIDFIELD
ATTACKING MIDFIELD
OUT WIDE
TIF Thoughts…
It may be fair to say that there are both pros and cons for Aribo with regard to his versatility on the football pitch. On one hand, his versatility could benefit him because he may enjoy more game time as a result of being capable of playing in a variety of different positions.
However, if Bennett is correct in saying that Aribo “enjoys playing” in an attacking midfield position “at the top of the diamond,” then it may be better for him to play the majority of his games in that role in order to continue his development if that is where he sees himself playing most often in the future.