By Wale Mustapha
Nigerian striker Tolu Arokodare has urged Wolverhampton Wanderers to be fully prepared as they search for their first English Premier League (EPL) victory of the season against Aston Villa in the West Midlands derby this weekend.
Wolves have managed just two points from 12 league games so far, and manager Rob Edwards will be hoping to end the winless streak at Villa Park.
“It’s a local derby so it’s exciting for the fans but, no disrespect, I’m going to take it like any other game because we haven’t had the right results, so we have to focus on the match,” Arokodare told Express and Star.
“This could be the game that might change everything for us and hopefully in a positive way by way of three points.”
The Super Eagles forward made his third Premier League start last weekend in Wolves’ 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace and will be aiming to make a decisive impact against Villa.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
