Kenny Miller has highlighted the ONE Rangers star who must start Wednesday's Battle of Britain return against Liverpool at Ibrox.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst named five changes from the team who lost out 2-0 at Anfield on Tuesday night for the 4-0 triumph over St Mirren in the Premiership. That same team defeated Hearts 4-0 in the capital - with the exception of one player - and that will have given the manager food for thought ahead of the big Champions League night under the lights.
Rangers are yet to get off the mark in the competition proper and sit bottom of their section with zero points or goals after three games. The Light Blues will be hoping for much better success in the second half of the group, starting with Jurgen Klopp's men this coming midweek. Miller - who also turned out for Celtic during his playing days - believes if his former club want to take anything from the game with the English Premier League giants they MUST start Scott Arfield.
READ MORE : Rangers player ratings v St Mirren as Sakala puts marker down to Kent and clinical Colak strikes
Writing in his Daily Record column, he said: "For me, whatever shape Gio goes for against Jurgen Klopp’s men - Scott Arfield MUST be deployed within it.
"If Rangers want to take anything from this game, he should be one of the first name’s on the manager’s team-sheet. They need a goal. Whether it’s Alfredo Morelos or Antonio Colak up front, it doesn’t really matter. But they need someone else to provide a threat.
"And Scotty Arfield is the ONLY guy in that Rangers squad who can do what he does. He’s one of the few midfielders in this country who runs forward without the ball. He either does it to score himself or to create for someone else. Against Hearts last week, Arfield’s run gets Rangers the first goal.
"It gave Ryan Kent half a pitch to get his cross in because it pre-occupied Michael Smith before Colak scored with a header. It all came from Arfield’s forward run. He didn’t even touch the ball but he affects players around him. And he’s the only player on Rangers’ books who does it.
"Liverpool do it every week. When a red shirt has time on the ball, there is a forward run and a threat in behind. More often than not, they play the pass. Because if it doesn’t hit its target, they’re ready to pounce on the second ball on the edge of your box.
"Picking Arfield isn’t a risk for Gio just because he likes to get forward. It’s the opposite. His work-rate and physicality is outstanding. He’s solid. And he’s been there and done it in the Premier League. So he’s actually a safer option for Gio in that regard.
"When he played in Burnley’s midfield, all he did was in-to-out running. He's got legs for days. I still can’t believe that he didn’t get on the pitch at Anfield on Tuesday night. But he has to play at Ibrox this week. Rangers were non-existent as an attacking force on Merseyside. But Arfield will help Rangers’ strikers. He might just take Virgil van Dijk or Joel Matip away from Morelos or Colak.
"Runs affect the opposition, they disrupt backlines. But Rangers just don’t do it - it’s not part of their armoury. Arfield is the only player of that type Gio has at his disposal. Of course, Rangers have to adopt a defensive approach at times against a world class team. But when players have the ball, they need to be braver than they were at Anfield.
"And they need to have more attacking intent. That’s why Arfield has to play. He’s cute and clever with those runs and he scores big goals. Scotty is actually hungry to get goals. That makes him different to every other Rangers midfielder. He always shows up and that’s something his team-mates didn’t do in Liverpool."
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