Joe Aribo

Who is Joe Aribo?

Joe Aribo was born on 21 July 1996 he currently plays as a midfielder for Scottish giants Rangers and the Nigeria national team.

Before making a move to Rangers, Aribo has played for Staines Town and Charlton Athletic.

Nigerian midfielder won the club’s academy player of the year award in April 2014 during his time at Staines Town; following a successful trial in 2015, he moved to Charlton Athletic, where he signed a one year deal. In the 2018/19 campaign, Aribo helped Charlton climb back into The Championship via the Play-Offs, which Charlton won in extra time at Wembley against Sunderland, in what proved to be Aribo’s final game for English outfits.

Charlton have offered Aribo a new contract at the end of the 2018–19 campaign. However, he opted to sign a four-year deal with Scottish Premiership giants Rangers. He made his debut for the club on 9 July 2019 in a 4–0 win at Ibrox Stadium over St Joseph’s of Gibraltar in the Europa League.

He suffered a head injury in a match in September 2019. On 21 February 2021, Aribo had one of the best games at Rangers as he scored during a Scottish Premiership win against Dundee United and was named player of the match.

Aribo is a versatile midfielder who can also play on the flanks. He is technically proficient, he’s able to use his long legs to shield the ball from opponents effectively. Aribo has claimed earlier that his strengths were “driving with the ball and getting up the pitch”.

How important is Joe Aribo for Rangers?

Rangers current manager, Steven Gerrard has been a huge fan of Joe Aribo as Nigerian midfielder has played 42 games in all competitions for the Scottish giants. scoring eight goals and assisting for seven more.

Following his versatility, he has been one of the key players in Steven Gerrard’s tactics as a former Liverpool midfielder put him in several positions through the 2020/21 season.

The 24-year-old midfielder himself has belief in Steven Gerrard and claimed that his work could not be understated after the Ibrox boss finally claimed the silverware.

Aribo told the Rangers official souvenir magazine: “He has been so important to me.

“He’s got a winning mentality and he’s been there and done it.

“We knew how important it was to win the title and we had to do it, it was make or break.

“At the start of the season, we said it was the last dance and that’s definitely what we had to do.”

What are the plans for Joe Aribo next season? 

Next season Aribo is likely to be a Rangers player as both club and the player are keen on continuing their partnership, their main goal for the 2021/22 campaign will be to defend the Scottish Premiership title and show their best at the European tournament.