Arokodare reveals inspiring words from coach during Wolves draw

Nigeria striker Tolu Arokodare has explained how he came on as a substitute to score and help Wolverhampton Wanderers secure a 2-2 draw against Brentford in a Premier League fixture on Monday.

The game could have been out of sight before half time for the Bees, who had several opportunities to add to the pair of goals they put past Jose Sa’s goal before the Old Gold struck back before half time through Adam Armstrong’s first for the club and Tolu Arokodare’s equaliser in a second half.

 

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Within the opening 40 minutes, Wolves struggled to deal with the Bees, with Michael Kayode and Igor Thiago finding the net.

However, Armstrong’s first goal for Wolves revived their confidence, and after the striker hit the post early after the break, substitute Arokodare came on to score the equaliser, before heading an effort against the crossbar.

The Super Eagles confirmed the words he received from manager Rob Edwards before he came on to score.

‘My job was to come and help the team’

“He said I should go and try and score because we are getting a lot of chances and crosses and we needed a presence,” Arokodare told Sky Sports.

“My job was to come help him and I am glad I was able to score.”

On his missed opportunity late on, Arokodare said: “It was a very good cross from {Jackson} Tchatchoua but I was quite unlucky because I hit the post. He was also unlucky in the second because he hit the post.”

Arokodare joined Wolves on a four-year deal

So far this season, Arokodare has scored thee Premier League goals for Wolves, and provided one assist. He was the winner of the 2025 Ebony Shoe, awarded to the best player in Belgium representing an African country.

During his youth in Nigeria, Arokodare played for Kash Academy and Flying Sports Academy in Festac, as well as the Segun Odegbami International College and Sports Academy. He later joined the Box2Box FC academy in Surulere and had trials in Europe with SC Freiburg and Toulouse.

He joined Wolves on a four-year contract with the option of a further one year in a deal worth £23.4 million. He scored his first competitive goal in Wolves’ EFL Cup third round win over Everton on September 2025, while his first Premier League goal came against Arsenal, where Wolves lost 2-1.