Pat Bonner stunned as Celtic’s ‘excellent’ Stuttgart hero was dropped for Oxlade-Chamberlain

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Pat Bonner was fuming after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was picked to start Celtic’s Glasgow Derby vs Rangers at the weekend.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has performed well since his arrival at Celtic in February but in big games against Rangers and Stuttgart, the former Arsenal star was posted missing.

Which is why Bonner admits he was ‘surprised’ to see the former England international get the Celtic nod at Ibrox instead of the Hoops’ Stuttgart goal hero, Luke McCowan.

McCowan has often played out of position on the wing this season 🙃

It's time he was given more of a chance in his natural role. Tell me if you agree ⏬

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Bonner told BBC Radio Scotland, “I’m so surprised that McCowan, and I thought he was excellent the other night, that he that he wasn’t in the team, instead of Oxlade-Chamberlain, even Nygren, in the middle of the pitch.”

This is a far cry from Bonner’s praise for Oxlade-Chamberlain less than two weeks ago after the midfielder pulled the strings in the 3-2 win at Rugby Park.

• READ MORE: John Souttar’s nonsensical analysis of Celtic’s goals after heroic Ibrox fightback

Pat Bonner slams Benjamin Nygren, ‘what does he do’ for Celtic

Bonner really had the flamethrower out during his half-time Celtic rant, and now it was the turn of Benjamin Nygren who is the Parkhead club’s top goalscorer this season.

The Celtic legend continued, “If he doesn’t get himself in the box, what does he do? You know? Is he creative? No.

“In the middle of the pitch, he’ll work away, he’ll run around, but, he’s not creative.

“The only the bit that he’s really good at is getting in the box, because if he can’t get the ball into the box, then it becomes null and void. That’s the problem.”

Luke McCowan is a good Celtic squad member, but not a first-team starter

McCowan has proven over his two seasons at Celtic that he is a good impact player for the club, but as a starter, the former Dundee captain is too inconsistent.

Under four different managers, including two spells under Martin O’Neill, McCowan has started just 14 games out of 33 Celtic fixtures in all competitions this season.

That not only tells fans that he’s not good enough to start ahead of the likes of Nygren, Hatate and Engels, it also screams that while he is a talented footballer, being a squad player is where McCowan is right now in his Celtic career.