We had to sign John Arwuah - Clinton Larsen

Golden Arrows coach Clinton Larsen says it was imperative the club signed Ghanaian hardman John Arwuah given their injury concerns in the engine room.

The ex-AmaZulu man made his Arrows debut off the bench in a 2-0 loss to struggling neighbours Maritzburg United a week ago.

Nkanyiso Cele missed the game with a knock, while fellow central midfielder Gladwin Shitolo played with a heavily-strapped leg.

"Listen we're very, very thin and if we didn't sign John we wouldn't have a midfielder on the bench against Maritzburg and that is how thin we are," reveals Larsen.

"Cele was out and Shitolo was about 60 or 70 percent fit and we strapped him up and he played that game. So if we call in players it is from the MultiChoice Diski team and we don't have an experienced squad.

"Like I said before, two central midfielders Shitolo and Cele (are carrying injuries), so it was important to get one more experienced player should anything happen to any of the two and now we have him in that position."

Arwuah - who previously worked with Larsen at Bloemfontein Celtic - was formerly at Cypriot side AEL Limassol, the same club that had Mame Niang on loan from Mamelodi Sundowns.

The 29-year-old joined Limassol from Usuthu on a two-year deal in August 2015 but cut short his stay due to the club's financial problems.

Arwuah was released by AmaZulu following their relegation from the Absa Premiership in 2014/15.