Rising Celtic star reveals Rangers exposure 'will help him handle anything'

Especially when an Old Firm victory at Ibrox is thrown into the mix.

An England Under-20 internationalist with a six-year contract at Brentford, Arthur moved north on deadline day in February with a big reputation, but had to bide his team for a first-team opportunity.

It came at Pittodrie earlier this month when Dane Murray picked up an injury in the warm-up and Arthur showed up well. Since then, he’s kept Rangers out in a Scottish Cup victory away from home on penalties after a goalless draw and is now looking like a first-team player for the remainder of the season.

Excelling at Ibrox has swelled belief for Arthur that he can cope with whatever football will throw at him going forward.

“Before the game, a lot of people I was speaking to were saying if you can play at Ibrox, you can play anywhere,” said Arthur. “If you can play in the Old Firm derby, you can do it in any circumstances in football.

“That was one of my proudest achievements to date, to go there, get the clean sheet, get the win. I was very proud. Obviously, I think fans from our side played their part and I'm really proud.

“It was a massive game to be thrown into and I was really happy that gaffer put his trust in me. For the boys to go and get the win just gives us massive confidence going into the later stages of the season.

“A lot of the build-up towards the game was big for the boys. I think everyone had high expectations and we all wanted to go there to dominate and to win the game.

“But yeah, there were nerves building up to the game, everyone knew the game holds high pressure and stuff like that, but I think the boys dealt with it really well.”

Arthur has four Celtic appearances to his name and is enjoying first-team exposure at senior level. “It's been good so far,” he continued, “really enjoying everything. The boys have been great helping me settle in and stuff.

“From the first start I got, which was short notice, everything just took off really from there. I just try to keep my feet in the ground and keep pushing day by day. It was in at the deep end a bit.

“Aberdeen was a crazy experience, doesn't really happen often but any of the boys would have been ready to put in a shift that night.

“I think from when I got here it was a bit of a slow start with the games and stuff like that. Obviously I was building back up fitness and things like that and getting more adjusted to the lifestyle over here.

“I think I've held my own and obviously we've got some good results so it's been really good. There’s a lot of pressure. I think the boys are doing everything they can and working hard day to day to just do the right things and make sure we take it game by game.”