It is no secret that Celtic have a lack of quality in the squad at the moment. Martin O'Neill is not working with a lot and deserves a ton of credit for the results that he has been able to squeeze out to keep the Hoops in the title race.

That being said, there are also a belief that Celtic often fail to get the best out of their youngster. We have seen quite a few leave and do much better elsewhere.

One player that Celtic did bring in on loan in the summer is Jahmai Simpson-Pusey. He rarely got chances and left in the middle of the season. Now, he is starting regularly in the Bundesliga.

Benjamin Arthur was brought in on loan from Brentford to replace Simpson-Pusey. And early on, he was not getting a look-in either.

That changed after he was put into the starting XI when Dane Murray was an injury doubt. Arthur took his chance. He looked like the type of centre-back who could stroll through games in Scotland.

But Celtic lost 2-0 to Dundee United on his third-straight league start. In the following match, he was once again on the bench as O'Neill went for the tried-and-tested pairing of Liam Scales and Auston Trusty.

Some fans were not happy. One wrote on X: "Dropping Arthur is wild. Was hoping to see him and Trusty so we can play out from the back."

O'Neill's decision has now been called out by former Celtic player, Frank McAvennie as well. 

According to 67 Hail Hail, he said on his Let Me Be Frank podcast: “What’s the matter with Arthur?

“I thought he was doing exceptionally. I thought he was a big version of van Dijk. He would stroll through games. Why isn’t he playing?”

This goes back to Celtic trusting established names over youngsters on the rise. The pressure to win pretty much every game is intense. As a result, managers often shy away from taking risks.

Especially this is not the time to take risks. Celtic need to be perfect over their last six league games of the season if they want to win the Premiership. So, O'Neill cannot exactly be blamed for going back to the experienced duo of Trusty and Scales.

That being said, could the pairing of Arthur and Trusty be the better one at this point in time? It is very possible.

Arthur certainly has not looked out of place in the games that he has played. And if he spent the entire season at Celtic, he perhaps would have been part of the starting XI by now.

For now, he is only on loan until the end of the season. Extending that is something that the club should consider when the time comes.

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