Rangers are ready for the real Joe Aribo…

A surprising absence even from the bench at the weekend, we know Joe Aribo was out through an unspecified illness recently, but his injury-disrupted season is a real pity for the fans who know what we saw at the start of the campaign from the big Nigerian.

We don’t know what his status actually is – he travelled with the squad at the weekend but wasn’t named among the subs, but was part of the full warm up at Tannadice.

What we’re excited about is when he finally gets his foot in the Rangers door and starts putting consistent runs together.

Joe Aribo is an exceptionally talented footballer – while he has an awkward-looking frame, he’s a graceful player, with stunning close control and an eye for goal.

His physical strength is admirable and while he lacks pace, he reads games well and often helps out defensively too.

But it’s that attacking prowess Rangers fans are yet to truly, consistently, and continuously see that we expect to light Ibrox up once he’s ready.

True, we’re not sure the recent formation is the best for his attributes, and perhaps doesn’t get the best from him, but with early season work being built around him, there’s every chance when he secures fitness that there’ll be a tweak to the formation to get the best out of him.

Either way though, Aribo, a Nigeria international, has all the potential in the world to be a quite superb talent for Rangers.

And we can’t wait to see it.