Scott Arfield thinks current moment justifies summer Rangers investment

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The Rangers man was speaking ahead of tonight’s European clash at Ibrox.

Rangers midfielder Scott Arfield believes the heavy investment in Steven Gerrard’s squad this season was for moments like the one they find themselves in currently, speaking in a recent press conference.

The Gers face off against Feyenoord at Ibrox tonight in the UEFA Europa League, part of a heavy schedule that sees the club play mid-week to weekend matches for most of the next few months.

The Rangers board backed Gerrard massively in the transfer market during the summer window, sanctioning multi-million pound moves for Ryan Kent and Filip Helander.

In total eleven first-team signings arrived, hugely boosting the options available to the manager.

Arfield believes that was all in service of not only Rangers qualifying for the Europa League, but also so his boss can rotate the team when needed and not lose too much quality.

Speaking in a press conference ahead of tonight’s match, Arfield said: “I think that’s why we’ve probably invested quite heavily, for these moments, when we can call in different players for different games, different positions to play.

“And given the opposition, it’s only going to get stronger as the season goes on. We’ve managed to get ourselves into this situation in the group stages.

“Us as players, we look in the dressing room and see how heavy it is in terms of personnel, when you’ve got the shirt you need to keep it as much as possible. I think that’s the driving force behind it.”

Will it all pay off?

Rangers certainly appear to better equipped for challenges this season compared to last. Progress in the second half of last term was notable and they’ve only improved between 2018/19 and 2019/20.

Whether it allows them to make it into the knockout stages of the competition remains to be seen. The trio of Feyenoord, Young Boys and Porto provide a tougher test than the group Rangers faced last season.

At the very least, the new signings should keep Gerrard’s team fresher for domestic tests, allowing them to keep pace with Celtic in the Scottish Premiership title race.

The next few weeks and months could define Rangers’ season and fans will be hoping that Arfield is right – the investment allows them to compete on all fronts.