A lot of the talk this season has been about Celtic’s issues up top, but they have also suffered at the back.
Celtic have been through their fair share of centre-back changes in the midst of Cameron Carter-Vickers’ injury this season, and nobody has been able to nail their colours to the mast.
But during the January transfer window, Celtic signed Benjamin Arthur from Brentford on a loan deal until the end of the season, after allowing another loanee, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, to leave.
Before the March international break, Arthur started Celtic’s defeat at Dundee United and was then benched for Auston Trusty for the trip to Dundee over the weekend.
That call from Martin O’Neill was questioned by Frank McAvennie, who wanted to know why the on-loan Brentford defender isn’t starting.
“What’s the matter with Arthur?” asked McAvennie. “I thought he was doing exceptionally – Why isn’t he playing?”
Do you want to see Benjamin Arthur at Celtic next season?
Benjamin Arthur of Celtic heads at goal during the William Hill Premiership match between Celtic and Motherwell
Frank McAvennie
Frank McAvennie – Credit: Let Me Be Frank podcast
Frank McAvennie compares Benjamin Arthur to Virgil van Dijk
Virgil van Dijk is one of the best to put on a Celtic shirt, as he strolled through Glasgow during his time at the club.
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But McAvennie, on his Let Be Me Frank podcast, made the bold call to compare Arthur to the ice-cool former Hoops star.
“What’s the matter with Arthur?” asked McAvennie. “I thought he was doing exceptionally. I thought he was a big version of van Dijk. He would stroll through games. Why isn’t he playing?”
Arthur’s stats since joining Celtic
Arthur made his debut at Aberdeen and made a very strong start to life at Celtic, including his performance at Ibrox.
As of this moment, he will be going back to Brentford in the summer, but perhaps the powers that be at Celtic should look to bring him back next season.
It’s not like he joined the champions of Scotland when everything was rosy in the garden; in fact, it was the complete opposite.
And perhaps Arthur should be rewarded by being brought back again.
Premiership games: 4
Starts: 3
Tackles per game: 1.3
Interceptions: 1.5
Balls recovered per game: 3.0
Clearances per game: 7.3
Total duels won: 82%
Ground duels won: 71%
Aerial duels won: 87%
Sofascore rating: 6.88
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