On Sunday afternoon, very few Rangers players did themselves justice at Tynecastle.
Alfredo Morelos was very good for an hour before frustration took hold, while Borna Barisic put in a solid shift at left-back and the ever-classy Steven Davis was the pick of the midfielders.
However, apart from that, everyone else either struggled or just got by.
Scott Arfield falls into the former category.
The 30-year-old enjoyed an outstanding 2018/19 season at Ibrox having moved north of the border from Premier League side Burnley, registering eleven goals and seven assists in 29 league appearances [Transfermarkt].
He scored a hat-trick at Motherwell and netted the in an Old Firm win over Celtic at Ibrox.
It wasn’t just the goals, though, it was was the general level of his play. Especially when deployed further forward, he was integral to the side’s attacking play, linking up well with Jermain Defoe, in particular.
Should Rangers star Arfield be axed?
So far in 2019/20, though, the threat and precision seem to have gone out of his game.
By way of comparison, Arfield has a solitary goal and no assists from his first eight appearances [Transfermarkt]. Almost all of his outings have come in an attacking role, but he’s simply not contributing enough in the final third.
It could be something to do with his international exploits. The £2.25m-rated player [Transfermarkt] captained Canada in the Gold Cup over the summer and has only just returned from CONCACAF Nations League duty against the USA.
It’s either that or simply a slump in form.
Regardless, it looks like it might be time to give the player, who has played 64 games since joining last summer, a temporary break from the side [Soccerbase].
He guarantees work rate as the sort of guy who will always knuckle down for the cause. Yet, the player operating in that advanced role has to provide genuine attacking threat and support for the striker. Right now, he’s not managing to do that.
Rangers travel to Porto on Thursday evening as heavy underdogs with nothing to lose.
That’s the perfect scenario from which to give Greg Stewart a start. The ex-Birmingham City man has already shown what he can offer in domestic football and is now deserving of a shot in the Europa League.
Perhaps he can provide the creativity and precision that Arfield has regularly lacked in the recent past.
