SUPER EAGLES STRIKER AROKODARE REACHES 100 CAREER GOALS

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By ‘Balogun Ibrahim

Super Eagles striker Tolu Arokodare has expressed gratitude to God and those who have supported his career after reaching the 100-goal milestone, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The 25-year-old celebrated the achievement on social media after scoring in Ajax’s 2-0 victory over Atalanta in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday.

“100 career goals. Grateful for this journey I am on and the path that God has paved for me. It is Him and all the people along the way who have got me here, and for that I am thankful. The journey continues. God is the greatest,” he wrote.

Arokodare came on as a substitute in the 66th minute at the Johan Cruijff Arena and broke the deadlock in the 87th minute. He controlled a long pass from Youri Baas before calmly slotting the ball past Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi.

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Seventeen-year-old substitute Abdellah Ouazane sealed the win with an individual effort in stoppage time.

The Nigerian forward has scored his career goals across several clubs and countries, including 22 for Valmiera in Latvia, 21 during a loan spell at Amiens, 41 for Genk in Belgium, six for Wolves and two for Nigeria.

Arokodare joined Ajax on a season-long loan from Wolves during the summer and has now scored eight goals for the Dutch club.

The victory also ended Ajax’s eight-match winless run against Italian opposition, which dated back to April 2019. It further earned them their first points in the Conference League league phase following an opening defeat to Hajduk Split.

Ajax coach Míchel Sánchez said he brought Arokodare into the game to strengthen the team’s attacking threat inside the penalty area.

“I brought him on to create more threat in the penalty area. Sometimes you make substitutions, and they don’t work out well, but the return of the players who came off the bench brought about the improvement for me,” he said.

Describing the striker as a special player, Sánchez added that he shared a good relationship with Arokodare and the rest of the squad.

Arokodare, meanwhile, said the victory represented a positive response to the team’s recent struggles, which had seen them draw and lose matches.

“We didn’t play the way we wanted to over the past few weeks, drawing games or even losing. The last two games, including this one – that’s the way we want to play. We’re a top-level team with great players, and we want to show our talent,” he said.

The striker also expressed hope that his loan spell would lead to a permanent stay at Ajax, saying he intended to discuss the possibility with the club’s technical director, Jordi Cruijff.

“Hopefully, I won’t be a loan player for much longer. I’m going to talk to Jordi,” he said.

Ajax will next travel to Denmark to face Midtjylland on November 5.