Super Eagles striker Tolu Arokodare has established himself as one of the Premier League’s most dominant aerial forwards this season, Footynaija.com reports.
In a campaign where Wolves are having a season to forget, the Nigerian reportedly sits third in the division’s aerial duel success rate behind only Erling Haaland and Benjamin Sesko.
The club went 19 games without a win between August and early January, setting a new Premier League record for the worst start by any club in the competition’s history. They were written off before Christmas, with a return to the Championship looking inevitable. Yet through all of that, Arokodare kept showing up and winning his battles.
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According to the report, the 25-year-old who earned his first call-up to the Nigerian national team last year, has won 50% of his aerial duels across the season, a number that only Haaland at 58% and Sesko at 50.47% can better among regular starters.
For someone in his first Premier League season, playing in a side that has given him next to nothing to work with, that tells a story numbers alone cannot fully capture.
Arokodare’s impact at Wolves
The Nigerian arrived at Molineux last September from Belgian side Genk, where he had scored 21 league goals the previous season to win the Pro League Golden Boot.
The Premier League was always going to be a step up, and the goals have not come as freely, with just five to his name from 31 appearances. But his contribution to Wolves has been far more than what the scoresheet shows.
His assist in Tuesday’s FA Cup win over Liverpool was exactly what he brings. He won the ball ahead of Virgil van Dijk in the air and had the vision to slide a pass through for Rodrigo Gomes, who lifted it beautifully over Alisson to seal a 2-1 win. That moment alone says everything about the kind of player he is, someone who makes the people around him better even when his own numbers are modest.
