Australia coach shares what Celtic think about ‘special’ Daniel Arzani

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Daniel Arzani joined Celtic on loan from Manchester City in 2018 but he’s yet to make an impact for the Scottish Premiership champions.

Celtic fans could be forgiven for thinking that Daniel Arzani had no future at Celtic. But his Australia head coach Graham Arnold has offered an intriguing peek behind the curtain, claiming that Neil Lennon ‘loves’ the Manchester City loanee and thinks he is a ‘special’ player.

One of the breakthrough stars of the Russia World Cup and the 2018 A-League Young Player of the Year, it seemed that Celtic had pulled off a major coup when they landed Arzani on a two-year loan from Manchester City.

But the winger has been less Patrick Roberts and more Charly Musonda so far with a serious injury just weeks into his Hoops career keeping him on the sidelines for 11 months.

Arzani made his return to action for the reserves in September but he now faces a major fight for a place in Lennon’s first-team with Scott Sinclair, James Forrest, Mohamed Elyounoussi, Maryan Shved and Mikey Johnstone all ahead of him in the pecking order.

But Arnold, who sees Arzani as a gleaming beacon for the future of Australian football, is confident that he can still make a big impact before his spell at Celtic comes to an end in May.

“Rene Meulensteen, my assistant, went up to Celtic and sat with (Celtic coach) Neil Lennon and they rate him highly,” Arnold told Fox Sports.

“They love him. They think that he is a special player but at the end of the day it’s all about getting those opportunities on the pitch and getting game time and I think that will come to the forefront over the next six months.

“(But) Daniel is under no illusions that he has to work extremely hard to get in that side.”

There’s a reason why Arzani was viewed as one of the world’s most exciting young forwards just over a year ago with Manchester City fighting off plenty of competition to land his sought-after signature.

The winger is capable of producing something out of nothing with a shake of the hips and a burst of pace and he should fit in perfectly to Lennon’s attack-minded, forward-thinking style – if he gets a chance that is.