Rangers Stock Market: Joe Aribo on the rise as Ianis Hagi moves down

Ianis Hagi, Ryan Kent, Joe Aribo and Alfredo Morelos put the men from Ibrox four ahead before a late strike from Marc McNulty reduced the arrears.

The game perhaps wasn’t as comfortable as the scoreline suggests, though: while it ended up as a commanding victory, there were long spells of the first half where the Taysiders were on top.

Here at Rangers Stock Market, our Glasgow Times Sport writers will take you through whose stock has risen and whose has dropped every week as Glasgow giants close in on the Scottish Premiership title.

(NB: The Rangers Stock Market only includes domestic results and does not include performances from European competition.)

UP

Joe Aribo

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The Nigeria internationalist was back to his brilliant best at Ibrox on Sunday and he proved too hot to handle for the Arabs. A goal and an assist isn’t half-bad for an afternoon’s work, but it was Aribo’s all-round play that truly caught the eye.

The midfielder uses his frame exceptionally well, throwing himself between the opponent and the ball and using his dazzling footwork to bamboozle defenders. His balance, agility and close control are up there with the very best Scotland has to offer and on days like Sunday, he’s simply a joy to watch.

Allan McGregor

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The veteran shot-stopper has been one of Steven Gerrard’s most faithful lieutenants on the pitch this season and he showed precisely why in the 4-1 win over United.

Micky Mellon’s men started the game well and went about seizing the initiative, and carved Rangers open a few times before Hagi nudged the hosts ahead. At 0-0, it was McGregor who kept his side in the game.

He denied Lawrence Shankland with a brilliant stop when the Scotland internationalist was sent through for a one-on-one and produced another couple of brilliant saves to keep Louis Appere’s name off the scoresheet.

If it weren’t for McGregor, Sunday’s routine win could have been anything but.

Leon Balogun

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The 32-year-old has generally fared well since joining on a free transfer from Wigan Athletic last summer and while he is used to playing more centrally, he gave a good account of himself filling in at right-back in James Tavernier’s absence.

There’s no question that Balogun has the athleticism to play further wide and while there was room for improvement, he seems to be a capable deputy for the crocked Ibrox skipper.

He grabbed an assist against United but could still be offering a little more going forward by making darting runs towards the back post. It’s unrealistic to expect him to have the same attacking output as Tavernier, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t provide a little more.

DOWN

Alfredo Morelos

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After a brilliant and mature display against Antwerp in midweek where he had a hand in all four of Rangers’ goals, Sunday’s encounter in Govan wasn’t quite as promising from the 24-year-old.

Morelos eventually got his goal but there was more than a slice of good fortune about it – Dundee United goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist went to punt the ball long and it bounced off the striker and into the back of the net.

Before then, though, there were a few chances that the Colombian had snatched at and he really should have finished the game with more than one goal to his name. His header from close range right at the end of the first half really should have been a goal, even if Siegrist did well to bat it away.

Borna Barisic

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Another player who had an eventful Thursday night and a rather underwhelming Sunday. His biggest contribution was probably his missed spot-kick in the second half – it was a poor strike, and almost identical to the two penalties he successfully converted against Antwerp.

Rangers’ attacking play felt a little lopsided at times against United without Tavernier rampaging up the right and as such, a bit more was expected from the Croatian.

He had a few good deliveries, as you’d expect, but there weren’t quite as many as usual. Perhaps we’ve just been spoiled by his laser-guided crosses over the course of the season but at the weekend, it felt like he was a little off the pace.

Ianis Hagi

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Another man who ended up on the scoresheet but probably didn’t have the best all-round game. Hagi started on the right but United defender Jamie Robson came out on top in that particular head-to-head duel, leading to Hagi and Ryan Kent swapping flanks for the second half.

The Romanian playmaker did open the scoring at Ibrox and deserves credit for getting into the right place at the right time, even if he maybe didn’t know a lot about the goal at the time.

But that moment aside, it was a largely frustrating afternoon for the 22-year-old. He struggled to find away through the compact United defence before he was hooked for Scott Arfield with around half an hour to go.