Benjamin Arthur put in another positive display for Celtic against Motherwell.
It’s fair to say that Arthur was brought in through the back door at Celtic Park, with very little fanfare over the defender’s signing.
20 years old with just three senior appearances, this was a wildcard loan signing to help plug the gaps left by a long-term injury to Cameron Carter-Vickers.
But in his appearances for the Hoops so far, Arthur has looked like a really exciting talent, and one that Celtic might want to keep a hold of.
Benjamin Arthur’s performance for Celtic vs Dundee United
Starting alongside Liam Scales, Arthur completed the full 90 minutes in his first start at Celtic Park.
He could’ve got on the scoresheet if he hadn’t blazed a header over the bar in the first-half, missing the chance to score his first senior goal.
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What did you make of Benjamin Arthur’s performance against Motherwell?
Overall, he completed 17 passes in the opposition half, and 74 overall. He completed 18 carries, progressing the ball by a total of 56.7m (all stats via Sofascore.)
Defensively, Arthur made seven contributions overall, including three successful duels in the air – more than the rest of the Celtic team combined, would you believe.
Watching the game with your eyes tells you that this is a player with composure beyond his years, who will always look to pass the ball rather than clearing it.
He makes great use of his 6 ft 4 in stature, as evidenced by his aerial numbers from all of his Celtic appearances so far.
Could he be worth keeping around next season? His lack of a single Premier League minute this season tells you that he is unlikely to have his needs met regarding playing time at Brentford.
This wasn’t a player that Celtic weren’t aware of until Deadline Day, either – Steven Pressley, who knows Arthur from his time at the London club, revealed that the Hoops beat a host of English clubs to his signature last month.
You have been given £10m to sign one player for Celtic in the summer transfer window…
Which player are you spending that money on?
Steven Pressley on Celtic’s Benjamin Arthur
Speaking about the 20-year-old, fellow centre-half Pressley said: “Benji Arthur is a player I worked really closely with in my time at Brentford. I really like him and rate him as a player.
“I don’t want to put much pressure on him, but he does remind me of a young Virgil van Dijk. He is a huge unit but also very mobile.
“He is right sided. Benjy is very calm and clean in his defending. He is very assured, quick, strong and powerful. He has got so many good attributes that all the top modern day defenders require.
“I spoke to Shaun Maloney about him the other day. I told him how highly I rated him and he is a player with huge potential.
“They, in my opinion, have made a good acquisition. Of course, it is his first loan. This will be a new experience for the player but he is a player who has huge potential.”
“There was a lot of interest in Benjy. I know there were several English Championship clubs who were keen on him and also Celtic came in, so he had a lot of options.
“I am confident he can do well at Celtic given the opportunity.
“Brentford thought this would be a terrific loan for him because one of the biggest challenges is, can you handle the pressures of playing for Celtic or Rangers.
“I think if you can handle that then you will be able to handle most clubs. In terms of being able to grow and be tested then this will be a good step for him.”
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