Junior Hoilett on the sobering Arsenal experience that has him ready to take on Rangers with new Hibs forward line

Junior Hoilett remembers heading to the Emirates to face Arsenal as a raw teenager with Blackburn and being gripped by nerves. It was only his sixth top team game after breaking into Sam Allardyce’s side and the then 19-year-old had little idea of the career that was just about to unfold after that 6-2 thrashing.

Fast forward 15 years and the man who has made almost 200 Premier League appearances and starred at a World Cup for Canada still gets butterflies at the prospect of running out in front of 50,000 punters. But as he prepares for his first ever taste of Ibrox tomorrow the Hibs new boy insists those nerves are no longer a weakness - but a source of strength.

That’s what he learned from rubbing shoulders with wise old heads such as Jason Roberts, Benni McCarthy and El-Hadji Diouf in his early days at Rovers. Now - with Ibrox set to be packed for the first time this season after renovation work was finally completed - he hopes to pass that experience on to the younger members of David Gray’s squad.

The 34-year-old winger said: “Playing against Rangers, especially at Ibrox, is appealing to everybody. You want to be playing at the highest level and test your ability. It's exciting to be a part of that. Of course you still get nerves, but I know how to channel it and use it to my strength now.

“If you don’t get nervous that means you don't have the passion for the game, so I think nerves is a good thing. I remember when I was going to the Emirates for the first time, I was nervous as hell. But as a young player that's how you learn and progress.

“So I like to pass on my knowledge to the young players to help them when they go into these environments, know how to settle their nerves and keep playing to their game and