Moore tells Arzani to turn Celtic pain into long-term gain

Daniel Arzani must add patience and resilience to his undoubted promise as he seeks to convince Celtic coach Brendan Rodgers he is worthy of a first team spot with the Scottish giants.

Arzani

Daniel Arzani in action for Celtic in a development match Source: Celtic FC

That’s the advice of legendary Socceroo Craig Moore, who won six league titles and four Scottish Cups during a decade long reign - split over two spells - with the Hoops’ Glasgow rivals Rangers.

Arzani’s Celtic future has been under the spotlight after The World Game revealed a clause existed in his two-year loan deal from Manchester City facilitating a possible December return to the Etihad, should he fail to gain any first-team minutes for the Bhoys by then.

However, Moore believes 19-year-old Arzani, who has yet to feature in a match-day squad since his arrival in August, should forget about timelines and deadlines and harness his Hoops pain for long-term gain.

“Right now, it’s easy to say to go back to Manchester City but then he has to go somewhere else,” said 52-cap Moore.

“That’s change again. I don’t have all the answers, in terms of I’m not working with Daniel.

“But to be a professional, there are certain things you are going to learn and they will be crucial in terms of you having a good career.

“At this point, Daniel’s not saying anything. He’s keeping his head down and doing all the right things day-in, day-out at his club.

“But it seems to be a talking point for everybody else. And knowing Daniel, the way he is, he will be desperate and determined to get himself involved in things.

“But the reality is, at this level, it can take a little bit of time. Things don’t necessarily happen overnight, although that’s what we would all love to see.”

With Arzani gathering some much needed game-time off the bench during the Socceroos’ 4-0 international win over Kuwait this week, he has returned to Glasgow with a modicum of momentum.
But Moore, who took five years to become a regular starter at Rangers after his debut at 18, insisted that biding your time is character forming.

“I think it’s a very good learning curve,” he said.

"These are things you need to go through to be a professional footballer, not just for now but for the next 10 or 15 years.

“Ultimately, it will put him in a really good position and he will understand exactly what is required for him to thrive at the top level.

“And when he does reach that level - and I say does because that is exactly what he will do - he will appreciate it a whole lot more.”

The former Melbourne City attacking magician has made just a couple of reserve team outings so far, with Rodgers not yet convinced he can is ready to step up to the senior squad.

The defending champions lie third - three points off leaders Hearts - going into Sunday's (AEST) clash at Celtic Park against Hibernian, home to Socceroos Mark Milligan, Martin Boyle and Jamie Maclaren.

Unless Rodgers has an epiphany, Arzani is unlikely to feature.

“(The fact he hasn’t broken through yet) is a talking point because we know how talented Daniel is,” Moore said.

“We’ve been excited by what we’ve seen in his breakthrough season at Melbourne City and that flowed on with the minutes he had at the World Cup.

“Everyone wants to see him to continue to progress, play and develop.

“He’s in a process of adapting to a new country, a new style, a new tempo, new teammates and a new climate.

“I had a lot of time to develop at Rangers and a lot of reserve matches before I even broke into the first team.

“Then you look at Tommy Rogic and the same type of things were said early doors about him during his time at Celtic (how he should look elsewhere for senior football).

“He’s done really well there and Celtic have a very good player on their hands.

“I don’t see why, with hard work and a little bit of resilience, the same can’t happen for Daniel.

“What he’s going through right now is something that he’s handling, and will have to handle throughout his career.

“He’s going to have a lot of eyes on him if he goes on to do what we know he’s capable of.”


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4 min read
Published 18 October 2018 5:04pm
By Dave Lewis

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