BENJAMIN ARTHUR wants to show his appreciation of Brentford mentor Stephen Pressley by making sure Celtic hammer his Dundee side at Dens Park on Sunday.
It was the former Hoops and Scotland international – nicknamed Elvis – who paid detailed attention when the 17-year-old prospect joined the West London club in a £1million move from Peterborough in August 2023.
Arthur has now made five appearances for the champions since arriving on a short-term loan on deadline day.
ON THE BALL…Benjamin Arthur in action during Celtic’s 2-1 win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie last month.
The towering pivot is determined to prove how much he has improved thanks to Pressley’s early advice during his time as an individual coach at the Premier League outfit.
And that could be bad news for the Tayside club’s gaffer.
Reflecting on his step up as a teenager, Arthur said: “Steven was a coach at Brentford, so I had a very close relationship with him.
“I did a lot of work with him on and off the pitch. He did loads for me.
“As soon as I arrived at the club, he took me under his wing and helped me learn a lot of things about communication and positioning.
“We would go over every single game. It would be 30 minutes after every game, going through clips and stuff.
“We’d talk about how I could learn and the things I’d done well. I’m really thankful to him.
“He had a great playing career himself, so it was about learning as much as I could off him and taking on board the things he would tell me day by day.
“I’ll be very excited to see him again.”
POWER PLAY…Benjamin Arthur tussles for possession at Pittodrie.
The pair met briefly at Parkhead on February 7 when Dundee were within SECONDS of a sensational victory to send Martin O’Neill’s men toppling out of the Scottish Cup.
Junior Adamu, who joined the Hoops on a temporary transfer around the same time as Arthur, clipped in the equaliser and Sebastian Tounekti fired in the extra-time winner.
Arthur, speaking to the Scottish Sun, added: “It was my first game up here. It was too soon for me to be involved at that stage, but I caught up with him a bit afterwards.
“He certainly knows a lot about the game. He’s got loads of experience.”
Arthur played in the 2-0 loss to Dundee United at Tannadice 12 days ago – a defeat that leaves the club’s hopes of a fifth successive title hanging by a thread.
It was Celtic’s eighth league loss of a turbulent season, leaving them five points adrift of leaders Hearts with seven games to go.
Arthur is determined to bodyswerve torment on Tayside this time out.
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