ARNE ENGELS has hit the ground running following his record-breaking £11million arrival at Celtic on deadline day.
The polished playmaker has already enjoyed success in a 3-0 derby romp, netted on his first start in a 2-0 win over Hearts and tucked away another splendid penalty-kick in the 5-1 landslide Champions League victory over Slovan Bratislava at Parkhead last night.
And the 21-year-old midfielder, who won his first senior Belgium cap just 11 days ago, has bad news for future opponents – he reckons he will get BETTER as he settles into life as a Celt.
AT THE DOUBLE…Arne Engels celebrates his second successive penalty-kicks strike for Celtic with Daizen Maeda about to congratulate the new Bhoy.
Reflecting on his baptism in Europe’s most prestigious competition, Engels paid tribute to the Hoops fans and said: “With the crowd at the beginning, it was exceptional – a sound like I’d never heard before.
“It’s indescribable actually, so I really enjoyed it. It really helped us and you saw in the game that we got real energy from the crowd.
“That’s what we love and that’s why we kept the energy in the team and keep on performing like this.
“Of course, it was nice to get a goal, but the most important thing was that we grabbed a win and we did that exceptionally well.
“But we still need to keep on working and I still need to keep on working to improve.”
Engels, speaking to Celtic TV, continued: “It’s going better and better every day in training.
“We’re working on the relationships, so it is only going to keep improving, but I’m really pleased with the guys.
“They’re helping me all the time before and after the game, telling me some details so it will only get better.
EURO STAR…Arne Engels is smiles better after his Champions League debut. Image courtesy Celtic TV.
“I still cannot believe what I’m doing and I still need a few more weeks to get a feeling and get everything sorted in my head.
“But I’m now here to keep on going, keep on performing and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Brendan Rodgers’ men now face a trip to Germany on October 1 for the next match in the new set-up against Borussia Dortmund, last season’s runners-up to Real Madrid.
The Bundesliga club kicked off their campagn with a 3-0 win over Club Brugge in Belgium.
Former Augsburg star Engels added: “It will be more challenging, of course, but we still need to keep on working and believing in ourselves.
“You saw there if we keep on running and keep on making the game really hard for the opponent, we can beat everybody.”
The focus returns to the domestic scene on Sunday afternoon when Celtic host Championship outfit Falkirk in the Premier Sports League Cup quarter-final.
