English Premier League veteran Mark Schwarzer has claimed that Daniel Arzani was made a mistake in joining Celtic.
Arzani signed a two-year loan deal with the Hoops in the summer of 2018 from Manchester City. However, he picked up an ACL tear on his debut that left him out of contention for over a year.
The young winger has only featured once since the winter break, and that was a late cameo against Partick Thistle in the Scottish Cup. Yet, despite his minimal impact so far, the World Game reported that Celtic are still looking to bring him back in the summer.
However, speaking on Optus Sports’ Two Sharp Reds podcast, Schwarzer said the following on Arzani:
“It took him a while to even get that opportunity to start in a Celtic side and when he signed for them, I said straight away, ‘I think it’s the wrong move for him’.
“I don’t think Celtic’s style of play suits him; I don’t think it’s the right environment for him to go into to develop as a player. He’s a very gifted technical player, a player that loves to get the ball at his feet and run at opposition, but as a ball-playing player he needs other intelligent players around him.
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“So, I would have thought his best move would have been a place either like Germany, (or) in Holland. They play a more technical(ly) based game of football and they also give a lot of young players opportunities.”
Schwarzer clearly doesn’t watch Celtic all that often
What Schwarzer is effectively hinting at is that Celtic’s players aren’t good enough for Arzani to develop playing alongside with.
However, the young winger is fit and still can’t get a game. What does that say about the players playing ahead of him?
Arzani hasn’t not been featuring because of the style of football we play. There have been plenty of opportunities for left-wingers in our side. The likes of Mohamed Elyounoussi and Mikey Johnston have made positive contributions in stages this season, and both of those players look just as technically gifted if not more so than Arzani.
The idea that he would’ve gone to Holland or Germany and waltzed into a first-team squad is absurd. Arzani isn’t in the team because he hasn’t yet shown the manager that he deserves to be. It’s as simple as that.
Celtic also have players such as Ryan Christie, Odsonne Edouard, James Forrest, and Callum McGregor all playing around our left-wingers or left wing-backs. Don’t tell us these players aren’t as technically gifted as many players in some of Europe’s tougher leagues.
Arzani has plenty of proving to do. Celtic are the perfect club to give youngsters like him a platform. Yet Schwarzer seems keen to shift the blame and act as though we just weren’t a good fit for Australia’s golden boy due to the lack of technical quality in our squad and league. That couldn’t be further from the truth.