RANGERS’ boss Steven Gerrard was pleased with the performance of the Super Eagles invitee and could not resist the temptation to sing the praises of the Nigerian in light of his man-of-the-match showing as the Light Blues made light work of East Fife in the Betfred Cup on Sunday.
Rangers picked up a simple 3-0 victory away to East Fife courtesy of goals from Jermain Defoe, Filip Helander and Joe Aribo, who received all the plaudits for his showing.
Lee Bowyer before Joe Aribo joined: "If he goes to Rangers that is not the right place for him to go for his football career."
He's scored three goals in the Europa League qualifiers.
He's started both league games.
And he's just received his first Nigeria call-up. pic.twitter.com/DI23gltGPT
— bet365 (@bet365) August 15, 2019
Super Eagles Manager Gernot Rohr only recently extended a maiden invitation to the former Charlton Athletic midfielder for the national team as Aribo continues to impress his fans and manager alike.
The 23-year-old has now scored four goals in his eight matches with the Gers to continue his strong start to life at the Ibrox, earning a rave review from Gerrard for his display in the 3-0 thrashing of East Five.
“I thought George Edmundson was outstanding and Joe Aribo, he made the trip worthwhile just watching him today,” a pleased Steven Gerrard told RangersTV after the match, as monitored by Soccernet.ng
“I thought he (Joe Aribo) was immense and good players don’t just pick and choose when they play – they are good all the time and he has been outstanding in every game so far.”
https://www.twitter.com/SSE_NGA/status/1161690007905742850
The Liverpool legend added, “Joe can go as far as he wants in the game. I hope he stays alongside me for many years but he has got the world at his feet.
“Everyone will go away from this game talking about Joe and rightly so. He was outstanding from start to finish. He looked superb all day. He now has four goals in eight games but it isn’t just about that, it is about your all round performances.
“Top players turn up anywhere, it doesn’t matter if it is in front of 50,000, or 1500, your standards are always the same and from day one Joe has done that. He was one who I was keen to get signed in the summer and when I knew there was a chance I was all over it and did everything I could to get it over the line.
“I saw his potential and how much he wants it. It was a big change moving away from London but he has taken to it so smoothly. I can’t wait to work with him for longer. He was all over the pitch and covered every blade today. He got his goal, he put in a tackle in the 85th minute when we were 3-0 up and he did everything right.
https://www.twitter.com/SupereaglesP/status/1161640940894920708
“He has got so many attributes. It’s okay having them but if you have the right mentality and character you can go as far as you want to go.
“Joe expresses himself. He just loves playing football. He is robust, he’s leggy, rangy, can score a goal, can set them up, he tackles, he wins balls back, he’s skilful. He ticks every box and with experience he is only going to get better.”
