Aribo declares readiness to give all for Southampton
Only once did Saints come from two goals down to avoid defeat in the Premier League last campaign
Super Eagles playmaker Joe Aribo has stated his commitment to Southampton irrespective of how the club manager decides to use him.
Aribo who was introduced from the bench over the weekend opened up on the behind-the-scenes talks with boss Ralph Hasenhuttl that saw him drop out of the Southampton team - as the former Rangers star pledged to always be ready.
Aribo made the switch to the English Premier League earlier this summer with his Ibrox deal heading into the final 12 months, having been a key figure at Ibrox following his move north of the border in 2019.
He made his mark under Steven Gerrard and Gio van Bronckhorst with his performances domestically and was vital for the Dutchman on route to the Europa League final where Aribo netted in Seville.
After starting the opening day defeat for Southampton against Tottenham, he was dropped to the bench but made his mark when he came off the bench on match day two against Leeds United.
Aribo's quick feet saw him round goalkeeper Illan Meslier before wrong-footing two defenders on the goal line to fire into the far corner of the net.
Despite dropping to the bench, the Nigeria international has pledged to always be ready for the English Premier League side no matter how much game time he gets - a message which he may have picked up from his former club's crest.
Aribo told the Daily Echo: “I spoke to the manager the day before the match and he just said ‘be ready for me for when I need to come on and impact the game.
“Things like that happen (dropping to the bench). But that’s what I do, every time I play I want to leave my impact on the pitch and luckily I was able to do that.
“The manager said he was going to take me out and give me some time. I’m here to do the job so no matter if I’m starting on the bench or starting in the team I’m ready to make my impact on the team.”
Aribo’s first Premier League goal comes two weeks after he had announced himself to the crowd in Southampton, with a 70-yard solo run and finish versus Villarreal in the final pre-season friendly.
Signed from Scottish giants Rangers for a modest fee of £6million this summer, Aribo – who can drift in and out of games – has already spoken about his task being to provide ‘moments’.
“It’s an amazing feeling, I don’t really have words but I’m really buzzing today and happy to help the team,” he said.
“I literally said to Arma I could have scored a hat-trick, the header I felt like I should have chested and volleyed and the second one I thought I could do better too. But fortunately I have managed to score.”
Aribo’s strike was added to by Kyle Walker-Peters, provided by an excellent assist from Premier League debutant Sekou Mara, with less than 10 minutes until the referee’s final whistle.
Only once did Saints come from two goals down to avoid defeat in the Premier League last campaign, during April’s 2-2 draw with south coast rivals Brighton & Hove Albion.
“It's really important to have that, you need fight when you’re down 2-0, it’s never easy to get back into the game,” Aribo added.
“The boys are fighting and pushing together and you can see how important that is to get back into the game. We need to get points on the board.”
The international continued: “After the first result, we needed a turnaround and a bounce back. We got that today but it’s about pushing on.
“We’re biding our time and getting used to things but you need results to feed into things so it’s a massive point.
“We saw together the fight and the spirit. That is what we will need. We’re going to play Leicester and we’re going to fight together – we need three points.”
