Player Analysis: Joe Aribo

Joe Aribo has proved himself to be a key component for Rangers during a season in which Steven Gerrard’s Scottish Premiership winners have stopped their bitter rivals Celtic from winning ‘10-in-a -row’. While his talent may be obvious now, the midfielder’s route to the Glasgow giants has been anything but with the 24-year-old taking a circuitous journey to Ibrox via non-league football with Staines Town.

Joseph Oluwaseyi Temitope Ayodele-Aribo is a left-footer who primarily operates in the centre of midfield (as a deep-lying playmaker) or on the right side of the attack as an inverted winger. Blessed with an exquisite first touch with quick movement to match, he moved to Rangers from Charlton Athletic in the summer of 2019. The midfielder made his debut for Nigeria in the same year and has since been capped six times and scored twice for the Super Eagles, with his first goal coming against Brazil. 

The Camberwell-born Aribo stands 1.88m (6’2”) tall but possesses a guile and adroitness which belies his height and build, enabling him to perform in both wide areas and tight spaces. The heat map below shows Aribo playing in the role of an ‘enganche’ or No 10, whereby he connects the midfield with the attack.