McGREGOR Arfield in awe of perfect No 1 and ‘club idol’
PRIOR to a remarkable moment in the Czech Republic last Thursday night, Scott Arfield had an image in his mind of goalkeeping perfection.
In October 2016, he watched in admiration at Old Trafford as team-mate Tom Heaton singlehandedly kept out Manchester United — and star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, in particular — to earn a precious point for Burnley in their successful battle against the drop from the English Premier League.
But the Rangers midfielder admits those ten saves by Heaton were put firmly in the shade by one sensational fingertip stop made by Allan McGregor from Lukas Masopust to secure a 1-1 draw at Slavia Prague.
That big moment handed the Ibrox side a slender advantage, courtesy of Filip Helander’s away goal, ahead of tonight’s Europa League last-16 second leg in Glasgow.
And with McGregor at their backs, Steven Gerrard’s side go into the huge match brimming with confidence.
‘I remember being at Old Trafford with Burnley and Tom Heaton made ten saves as we drew 0-0,’ recalled Arfield. ‘That was probably the best goalkeeping performance that I have ever been a part of.
‘But in terms of a single save, Allan McGregor’s against Slavia Prague has to be the best. I think everyone in the stadium thought the ball was going in until the big man pulled out his arm and made the save.
‘It was a phenomenal save and Greegsy has since got the plaudits he deserves. He probably doesn’t want the plaudits but he got them anyway!
‘What a goalkeeper. We are extremely lucky to have him behind us, shouting at us and helping us reach the standards we all need to reach.’
Rangers legend and Sportsmail columnist Brian Laudrup this week said it looks like McGregor has hit the best form of an already impressive career at the ripe old age of 39.
His contract expires at the end of the season and Arfield would love to see the ‘freak’ specimen pledge his future to the new Scottish champions after his immense contributions to their 55th title success.
‘Greegsy is not just the important player that people see on a Saturday or a Thursday night,’ said Arfield. ‘Around the place he is an icon of this football club and his performance levels have been so consistent since he’s come back.
‘He pulls off big saves like last Thursday night on a regular basis. We would not be where we are now without him putting in those kind of performances.
‘I think his age is irrelevant because you get these kind of freak athletes that age doesn’t matter to them. Allan is certainly one of them. The longer he stays at Rangers, putting in those kind of performances, the better off this football club will be.
‘If you want to have success you need to have high standards and Greegsy demands that on a regular basis.
‘Off the pitch he’s a wee bit more quiet, a wee bit more chilled, but as soon as he sees that white line he just turns into a monster.’
With a first title in a decade in the bag, it has already been a wonderful campaign for Rangers, who travel to Parkhead on Sunday for their first league match since being crowned champions.
With all to play for in Europe and the Scottish Cup, it could yet be an historic season at Ibrox.
‘Definitely,’ said Arfield (below with McGregor). ‘It’s an amazing feeling (being champions). Everyone at the club has been on a long journey.
‘We’re back, we’ve done what we wanted to do. Now we have two massive months ahead of us to achieve more. We want to keep the train going, so to speak, and we have some huge games coming up.
‘The season is not done for us yet. We have completed one stage of it and we are looking forward to the rest of it. We are one win away from going a stage further than we did in the Europa League last year — to better last season would be great for us.
‘But Slavia Prague are a top team — one of the strongest in the competition — so if we can go forward it will be a huge success for us.
‘The next game is always the most important one so we put Sunday on the backburner for now. But we all know that (Celtic) fixture speaks for itself.’