Scott Arfield

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Scott Arfield
SM-Rangers18 (18).jpg
Arfield with Rangers in 2018
Personal information
Full name Scott Shagger Nathaniel Arfield[1]
Date of birth (1988-11-01) 1 November 1988 (age 33)[2]
Place of birth Dechmont, Scotland
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Rangers
Number 37
Youth career
Falkirk
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2010 Falkirk 108 (13)
2010–2013 Huddersfield Town 100 (9)
2013–2018 Burnley 177 (21)
2018– Rangers 98 (23)
National team‡
2007 Scotland U19 2 (0)
2007–2010 Scotland U21 17 (3)
2009 Scotland B 1 (0)
2016–2019 Canada 19 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:05, 26 January 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 October 2020

Scott Harry Nathaniel Arfield (born 1 November 1988) is a Scottish Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Rangers.

He began his career at Falkirk before moving to the English leagues for eight years with Huddersfield Town and Burnley.

Born and raised in Scotland, Arfield represented his nation of birth at international youth levels before switching to Canada in 2016.

Club career[]

Falkirk[]

Arfield came up through the Falkirk Youth Academy and earned promotion to the first team squad. He made his Falkirk debut on 4 August 2007, in their 4–0 win away at Gretna on the opening day of the 2007–08 season.[3] His first goal came in Falkirk's 4–2 defeat at Inverness Caledonian Thistle.[4] He then scored twice in a 4–0 win over St Mirren. He won the Scottish Premier League Young Player of the Month award for December 2007.[5] Arfield signed a new five-year contract with Falkirk in February 2008.[6] He finished the season with three goals in 35 SPL appearances.

During the 2008–09 season Arfield won his second Young Player of the Month award, this time winning for September 2008.[7] He was in the Falkirk side that were Scottish Cup runners-up, losing 1–0 to Rangers in the Final at Hampden Park. Arfield scored 10 goals in the 2008–09 season, seven of them coming in the league.

He was given the number 10 jersey, previously worn by Steven Pressley, for the 2009–10 season. Hamilton Academical offered £100,000 for Arfield in August 2009, but this was rejected by Falkirk, who commented that they "thought they had missed out a zero in the figure they offered".[8]

Arfield's first appearance of the 2009–10 season came in a 1–0 home win over FC Vaduz in the UEFA Europa League, the club's first ever match in European competition.[9] He finished the season with three goals from 36 appearances as the club were relegated from the SPL.

Speculation began to grow that Arfield was to leave Falkirk following their relegation from the SPL. On 17 May 2010, it was confirmed that Arfield was having talks with Huddersfield Town and was to have a medical at the club. Falkirk had already turned down offers from Hamilton Academical, Hibernian,[10] Hearts and Southampton.

Arfield left Falkirk after playing 108 games, scoring 13 times between 2007 and 2010. He made his last appearance for Falkirk in the 0–0 draw with Kilmarnock that confirmed relegation on the last day of the season.[11]

Huddersfield Town[]

On 21 May 2010, it was reported that Arfield had signed for Huddersfield Town for a reported fee initially in the region of £400,000 but potentially rising to over £600,000 after a certain number of appearances.[12] The move was confirmed three days later, after the club and the player had agreed personal terms. He made his Huddersfield debut in the 3–0 win over Notts County at Meadow Lane on 7 August 2010.[13] On 11 September 2010, he scored his first goal for the Terriers at Brisbane Road against Leyton Orient, where Town won 2–1. A week later, he scored his first goal at the Galpharm Stadium against Yeovil Town, in a 4–2 win for the home side.

Arfield was a regular in the Huddersfield side, making 38 appearances and scoring twice in all competitions as they finished the season as Play-off champions and gained promotion to the Championship after beating Sheffield United on penalties in the Wembley final, Arfield scoring his penalty to make it 2–1 as Huddersfield won by 8–7.[14] Arfield made fewer appearances in Town's first season in the Championship, and at the end of the season was released along with Tom Clarke and Alan Lee.[15]

Burnley[]

After leaving Huddersfield, Arfield went on trial with Burnley and scored in the 3–0 win over Cork City on 15 July 2013,[16] before signing a two-year deal 4 days later with the Clarets.[17] Arfield selected the number 37 shirt in memory of fellow Falkirk youth player Craig Gowans, who wore the same squad number when he was tragically killed in a training ground accident in 2005.[18] He scored his first professional goal for Burnley on 6 August 2013, in a 4–0 win against York City in the League Cup.[19] Arfield scored 9 goals in 49 competitive appearances for Burnley during the 2013–14 season.[20] Burnley won promotion to the Premier League and Arfield signed a three-year contract with the club in July 2014.[20] Arfield scored on his Premier League debut for Burnley against Chelsea in the 14th minute of their opening game of the season.

Rangers[]

Arfield returned to Scotland and signed a four-year deal with Rangers on 14 May 2018.[21] He made his debut for the club on 12 July 2018 in a Europa League qualification tie against FK Shkupi of Macedonia, and made his Scottish Premiership debut a few weeks later on 5 August, against Aberdeen.[22]

On 7 April 2019, Arfield scored his first professional hat-trick in a 3–0 victory against Motherwell.[23][24]

International career[]

Arfield in the Scotland U21 Squad

Scotland[]

Arfield represented Scotland at under-19, under-21 and B international levels.[25][26][27] He made his debut for Scotland under-19 in a 3–1 away friendly victory over Austria.[25] His second and last outing for the under-19s came four days later in the 2–1 home win over Norway,[25] coming on as a substitute for Alex Pearce in the 65th minute of the game.

Arfield was then a member of the Scotland under-21 squad, being called up for the first time in October 2007. His debut came in a 4–0 defeat against Netherlands on 16 October 2007.[26] He was a regular in Billy Stark's squad throughout the 2009 and 2011 European qualifying campaigns.[26] Arfield's first goal for the under-21s came in a 2–2 draw with Ukraine on 6 February 2008.[26]

Arfield received his first cap for Scotland B against Northern Ireland at the Excelsior Stadium in Airdrie on 6 May 2009.[27] Scotland won the game 3–0.[27]

Canada[]

Arfield also qualified to play for Canada, because his father was born in Toronto.[28] In February 2016, it was widely reported that Arfield was prepared to file his one-time switch paperwork with FIFA, which was needed for him to join the Canada squad.[29][30] In March 2016, Arfield was included in Canada's 23-man squad for their World Cup Qualification match against Mexico.[31][32][33] He made his debut on 25 March as a second half substitute for Tosaint Ricketts in a 3–0 home defeat to Mexico at BC Place.[34] Arfield was named to Canada's squad for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup on 27 June 2017.[35] His first goal for Canada came in the tournament opener against French Guiana on 7 July.[36] In 2018, at the opening of Canada's Nations League campaign, Arfield was named captain of the squad in their match against U.S. Virgin Islands.[37] In May 2019, Arfield was named to the squad for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[38] During an unofficial training match prior to the 2019 Gold Cup on June 10, he scored both goals in a 2–0 win against Trinidad and Tobago.[39]

In October 2020 Rangers coach Steven Gerrard suggested that Arfield had retired from international duty.[40] Arfield later refuted the claim in an interview with Rangers TV, stating that his continued involvement with Canada would be up to coach John Herdman.[41] After missing Canada's 2022 World Cup qualifiers in March and June of 2021, Arfield was named to the to the provisional 60-man squad for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup,[42] but did not make the final 23-man team.[43]

In January 2022 Arfield announced his international retirement.[44]

Career statistics[]

Club[]

As of match played 26 January 2022[45]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Falkirk 2007–08[46] Scottish Premier League 35 3 2 0 2 0 — 39 3
2008–09[47] Scottish Premier League 37 7 4 3 4 0 — 45 10
2009–10[48] Scottish Premier League 36 3 1 0 1 0 2[a] 0 40 3
Total 108 13 7 3 7 0 2 0 124 16
Huddersfield Town 2010–11[49] League One 40 4 5 1 2 0 6[b] 1 53 6
2011–12[50] League One 35 2 1 0 1 0 3[c] 0 40 2
2012–13[51] Championship 21 1 4 0 1 0 — 26 1
Total 96 7 10 1 4 0 9 1 119 9
Burnley 2013–14[52] Championship 45 8 1 0 3 1 — 49 9
2014–15[53] Premier League 37 2 2 0 1 0 — 40 2
2015–16[54] Championship 46 8 2 0 1 0 — 49 8
2016–17[55] Premier League 31 1 3 0 1 0 — 35 1
2017–18[56] Premier League 18 2 0 0 2 0 — 20 2
Total 177 21 8 0 8 1 — 193 22
Rangers 2018–19[57] Scottish Premiership 29 11 4 0 2 0 11[d] 1 46 12
2019–20 Scottish Premiership 26 5 3 3 3 0 17[e] 1 49 9
2020–21 Scottish Premiership 28 4 2 0 2 0 13 3 45 7
2021–22 Scottish Premiership 15 3 0 0 3 1 8 0 26 4
Total 98 23 9 3 10 1 49 5 166 32
Career total 479 64 34 7 29 2 60 6 603 79
  1. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ Four appearances and one goal in Football League Trophy, two in League One play-offs
  3. ^ One appearance in Football League Trophy, two in League One play-offs
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International[]

As of match played 15 November 2019[58]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Canada 2016 6 0
2017 6 1
2018 1 0
2019 6 1
Total 19 2
Canada score listed first, score column indicates score after each Arfield goal. Goals scored in unofficial friendlies and exhibition matches not counted.
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 7 July 2017 Red Bull Arena, Harrison, United States 8  French Guiana 2–0 4–2 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup
2. 15 June 2019 Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States 14  Martinique 4��0 4–0 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Honours[]

Club[]

Huddersfield Town

Burnley

Rangers

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "National team roster: 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup: Canada" (PDF). CONCACAF. p. 3. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2012). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2012–2013 (43rd ed.). London: Headline Publishing Group. p. 476. ISBN 978-0-7553-6356-8.
  3. ^ "Gretna 0–4 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 4 August 2007. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  4. ^ "Inverness CT 4–2 Falkirk". BBC Sport. 29 September 2007. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  5. ^ "Arfield wins monthly player prize". BBC Sport. 20 January 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  6. ^ "Arfield pens new Bairns contract". BBC Sport. 28 February 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  7. ^ "Arfield wins young player award". BBC Sport. 5 October 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  8. ^ "Falkirk reject Arfield bid". Sky Sports. 3 August 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  9. ^ "Falkirk 1–0 Vaduz". BBC Sport. 16 July 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  10. ^ "Arfield happy at Falkirk". Sky Sports. 1 September 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  11. ^ Lindsay, Clive (8 May 2010). "Kilmarnock 0–0 Falkirk". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  12. ^ "Arfield joins Huddersfield Town". BBC News. 24 May 2010.
  13. ^ "Notts County 0–3 Huddersfield". BBC Sport. 7 August 2010. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  14. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ^ Sykes, Dave (6 May 2013). "Town's retained list confirmed". htafc.com (Huddersfield Town F.C.). Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  16. ^ "David Jones appears in Burnley friendly win at Cork City". BBC Sport. 16 July 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  17. ^ "Burnley complete move for Huddersfield midfielder Scott Arfield". Sky Sports. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  18. ^ Scott McDermott (4 May 2014). "Burnley star Scott Arfield honours memory of tragic Falkirk youngster Craig Gowans". dailyrecord.
  19. ^ "York 0–4 Burnley". BBC Sport. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  20. ^ a b Burnley extend contract for midfielder Scott Arfield, BBC Sport.
  21. ^ Thomson, Nick (14 May 2018). "Gers Welcome Arfield To Ibrox". Rangers Football Club. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  22. ^ Gilfeather, Frank (5 August 2018). "Steven Gerrard fumes at officials after Aberdeen deny 10-man Rangers at death".
  23. ^ "Motherwell 0-3 Rangers: Scott Arfield hat-trick seals comfortable win". BBC Sport. 7 April 2019.
  24. ^ "Rangers: Scott Arfield thanks unselfish Jermain Defoe for first hat-trick". BBC Sport. 8 April 2019.
  25. ^ a b c "Scott Arfield – U19 Squad". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  26. ^ a b c d "Scott Arfield – U21 Squad". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  27. ^ a b c "Scott Arfield – U21 Squad". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  28. ^ McLauchlin, Brian (20 May 2015). "Scott Arfield: Scotland call-up would be 'pinnacle' of career". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  29. ^ Marshall, Tyrone (6 February 2016). "Canada calling for Burnley's proud Scott". Lancashire Telegraph.
  30. ^ "Report: Burnley midfielder Scott Arfield to be called up for Canada's World Cup qualifiers vs. Mexico". MLSsoccer.com.
  31. ^ "Canada Soccer".
  32. ^ "Arfield Receives First Canada Call-Up".
  33. ^ "Canada Soccer on Twitter". Twitter.
  34. ^ "Scott Arfield". www.theprovince.com.
  35. ^ Zeitlin, Dave (27 June 2017). "Canada names nine MLS players to 23-man CONCACAF Gold Cup roster".
  36. ^ Platt, Oliver (7 July 2017). "French Guiana 2-4 Canada: Alphonso Davies shines to avert meltdown".
  37. ^ "Your