ARSENAL CLASH IS PERFECT FOR US, SAYS ITTEN

CEDRIC ITTEN believes this weekend’s glamour friendly against Arsenal is the ideal fixture for Rangers to get over their surprise defeat to Tranmere. Boss Steven Gerrard was left fuming by his side’s ‘soft and weak’ showing following their 1-0 loss to Micky Mellon’s League Two side at Prenton Park on Saturday. The former Liverpool and England skipper said his normally solid side’s defending for Kieron Morris’ only goal of the match before the break was ‘embarrassing’ and he also accused players of ‘jumping out of tackles’. Rangers are next in action when they host Arsenal at Ibrox on Saturday. Gerrard’s men then travel back across the border to face Blackpool on July 21 before facing English Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion at Ibrox on July 24. The Scottish champions then conclude their pre-season friendlies 24 hours later with another glamour match at home to Spanish giants Real Madrid ahead of the newly renamed cinch Premiership season 2021-22 starting on July 31 at home to Livingston. And Swiss striker Itten believes the visit of former Rangers midfielder Mikel Arteta’s Gunners this weekend is the ideal chance to show their fitness and return to form after their poor Tranmere showing. ‘It’s a great game for us,’ Itten (right) told Rangers TV. ‘Arsenal are a big opponent and we are really looking forward to the game at Ibrox, it’s always great to play there. ‘We have worked very hard. We have done a lot of training as it’s very important to have a good pre-season to be ready for the upcoming games. ‘How fit am I feeling with the competitive season starting in two weeks? Very fit! ‘We’ve had a lot of running sessions and we have worked hard on being fit.’ The Scottish champions, who won their first top-flight title in ten years last season, squandered chances against Tranmere with Jermain Defoe, Scott Wright and Kemar Roofe missing the best opportunities. Gerrard was also clearly unimpressed by the commitment of some of his players while, in stark contrast, the absence of missing international stars like Alfredo Morelos and Borna Barisic only underlined their worth to the Ibrox side. Gerrard said: ‘People jumping out of the way of tackles and being soft and weak, I can’t tolerate that.’ ‘We had a couple of real good two-on-one moments where we could have been better. But the

goal we conceded is embarrassing from our level last year. ‘As we move along, we will get stronger and better. ‘It’s frustrating to lose the game. In the big picture, the result isn’t important but the takeaway is we have to improve in the final third. ‘There were another eight positives to take away from today and they are not here with us. It will all work itself out.’