Arsenal and Manchester City were interested. A club from the Bundesliga as well. So were Aston Villa and Southampton, Charlton wanted him to stay and somewhere Celtic were also in the mix. Amid all this interest, Rangers have pulled off a massive coup by securing the signing (Sky Sports) of Joe Aribo. It is nothing short of a miracle, and Steven Gerrard deserves major plaudits for achieving this signing against all the odds.
Do Rangers need someone like Aribo?
One area where Rangers are well covered in is central midfield. The likes of Ryan Jack, Ross McCrorie, Scott Arfield, Steven Davis and Glen Kamara can play in that role. Many might feel that the signing of Aribo was unnecessary. However, we think that Aribo can be an upgrade over most of the names mentioned. Moreover, Aribo can play as an attacking midfielder as well, which is something Rangers desperately need.
The midfielder scored ten goals for Charlton last season, and the Gers would be happy to have a midfielder who can contribute with goals and assists to take the burden off their strikers and wingers.
Strengths
Aribo is an all-rounder in midfield, and he has been likened to Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira for his physical resemblance and playing style. The midfielder has that explosiveness to go on marauding runs from midfield.
He is often tough to shrug off the ball, given his physical strength on the ball. The Englishman can be surprisingly quick for a big lad and defenders will often have to foul him to stop him.
Aribo can also pick out some neat passes and open up the opposition defence. To top it all off, Aribo has an eye for a goal, and one can see him arriving late from the edge of the box to score some vital goals for his side. His versatility to play in a box to box role as a no. 8 or as an attacking midfielder would also be a massive boost for the club. One can only imagine what the partnership of Aribo and Kamara would be like in the middle of the park as both of them are extremely strong on the ball and they can establish a formidable partnership in midfield.
Weakness
Playing for Rangers comes with a lot of pressure and the Gers would hope that Aribo would be able to handle that well. He is relatively young and untested at this level. His work rate can be questionable on occasions as he might not want to do the nitty gritty job in midfield. That is something which Gerrard can work on, and we think that he is a top signing for the club.
