Flying Arne Engels hopes his impressive full Belgium debut can help make him a superstar in his homeland – and the media back home are starting to take notice of the ‘tireless’ midfield machine.
Celtic spent big on Engels in the summer, drafted in as an £11m marquee replacement for Matt O’Riley, and he’s delivered with his early performances in Scotland. So much so that it’s propelled him up a gear on the international scene, from the fringes into the first XI as he started for the first time ever against Italy on Thursday night.
They lost 1-0 but Engels was the silver lining as far as the Belgian press are concerned. Until now, he hasn’t exactly been a household name in his homeland, having only featured for the Club Brugge B-team before Augsburg snapped him up in January 2023. But he hopes they know who he is now. He said: “I’m happy that I was able to show what I’m capable of. People may know me from my Champions League games with Celtic, but I’ve never played at the highest level in Belgium. So a lot of people here don’t really know who I am.
“I hope that with this game I’ve shown what I can do. It was nice to be in the starting line-up for the first time. But of course, it’s a shame we couldn’t win.”
Well, they know who he is now, anyway. Het Laatste Nieuws praised the 21-year-old’s ‘maturity’ while De Standaard were taken aback by his engine, saying: “Engels was tireless in winning the ball back and displayed impressive stamina throughout the entire match.” And the highest praise came from La Libre Belgique, who penned: “Engels proved that he is ready for the highest level and can become a mainstay in the Red Devils’ midfield.”
The Nations League defeat on home turf, courtesy of Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali’s early goal, was tough to take for Engels and Co. But he’s taking a lot from it personally. He went on: “In the first half in particular, it was very difficult for us. It wasn’t the performance we had hoped for. There was too little structure in our game, we lost the ball too easily, and Italy won most of the tackles. We played too anxiously. But the second half was better. We put more pressure on the Italian midfield and made it more difficult for them.
“Everyone gave their best, but it wasn’t enough. We have to learn lessons from this match for the future. The positive thing is that in the second half we were able to put pressure on a top team like Italy.
“There is still work to be done, but I believe that we can make progress as a team. For me personally, this was a learning experience, and I hope to be able to contribute even more to the team in the future.”