Arne Engels shirks his unwanted Celtic nickname as he answers 'penalty' windup with perfect comeback
He doesn’t want to be known as “the guy who only scores penalties” even if his Celtic mates are already at the wind up over his goals record.
Arne Engels did a pretty good job of shutting them up in Wednesday’s 6-0 drubbing of Dundee anyway. A wonderful assist and an even better strike from 25 yards was enough to reduce the fact that he did indeed bury another spot kick to just a footnote on a complete performance.
It was the kind of display that shows exactly why the Hoops dug deep to fork out a record £11million on the 21-year-old. And it took Engels to within one of delivering on his pre-match vow to hit double figures in both goals and assists. The raking pass that set Daizen Maeda free for a superb fourth against the Dens men was his 10th assist of the campaign. The Belgian’s thunderous strike for the fifth was his ninth strike since joining the Hoops.
Seven of those might have been penalties with just the one blot against his name in the Champions League win over Young Boys. But the big midfielder insists there’s far more to his game. And he’s intent on proving it.
He said: "I know. My team mates are also joking about it - but I don't want to be the guy that only scores penalties. I am more than that, so I'm happy to help the team with that on Wednesday night. I'm always trying to shoot, sometimes from distance. I know I have a great shot, so I need to do it even more. Yes I want to score more consistently, 100 per cent. But that's not the most important thing.
“I just want to help the team win, and if that is with the goal or an assist, then that's a bonus. I'm here to win games for Celtic - that's the main goal."
Goals have been a big talking point among Celtic fans over the last couple of weeks. Ever since Kyogo Furuhashi’s rapid exit for Rennes. Concerns the Japanese talisman’s departure would leave a void that could do severe damage to the business end of the season were heightened when Celtic failed to sign a new striker before Monday night’s transfer deadline.
Adam Idah might now be the only senior recognised centre forward in Brendan Rodgers’ squad. But with goals galore waiting in the wings in the form of top scorer Daizen Maeda who has struck 18 times and Nicolas Kuhn who took his tally to 17 against Dundee, Engels reckons there’s no reason to worry.
The burden is being shared throughout Brendan Rodgers’ squad with Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate chipping in with seven from midfield too. And Engels says it’s down to a relentless appetite that sees his team mates “destroy” themselves physically in a bid score as many as they can every time they step on the park.
He said: “Of course, Kyogo was an amazing player, like everybody knows. But the people that are here are really stepping up. Daizen and Nicolas are playing an amazing season. But also the rest, like Ads and Callum and Reo and other people, everybody in squad is making an impact every game and trying to do things.
“That's what we are really good at, from every position, we can do something. You have always the drive to get another goal. Sometimes other teams are maybe pleased with 1-0 or 2-0 and then they want to keep that. But we are going and going and going and even destroying ourselves sometimes physical wise, to get another goal. That's a bonus thing that we have here as a team.
“Wednesday night was really good from every perspective of the game. I think attacking wise, defending wise, everything went really well for us, and even the last minute, you see everybody sprinting for the next goal or something. So it's amazing to see the drive of the boys."
As if Celtic’s wing men weren’t providing enough ammunition, the return of Jota last month has taken the threat to a whole new level. The Portuguese ace enjoyed a stunning homecoming against Dundee and pulled out his full box of tricks to wow the Parkhead faithful.
Coming off the back of his goal in the late cameo against Motherwell on Sunday the man who left for £25m and returned for £8m just 18 months later proved he has lost absolutely none of his value on the park. He grabbed two assists against Dundee too, the second of which was a wonderful stopover and cross for Daizen Maeda. But it was his workrate off the ball which was almost as eye catching in a tremendous hour’s work.
Jota’s arrival can only help ease the burden on Engels’ shoulders after his record breaking summer move from Augsburg. But it’s his instant impact on the team that the Belgian has been most impressed with.
He said: “Yeah, really good, like you see on Wednesday, the cross was amazing for the Daizen goal. He is really trying to do some things with the ball and also in the pressing. In every aspect, he's trying to do everything. Since he's been here, he's also training really well. So, yeah, I think everybody's really pleased with him coming in."
