Arokodare Reveals Osimhen’s Role In Dolberg Shirt Celebration

Tolu Arokodare has revealed that Victor Osimhen advised him to honour injured Ajax teammate Kasper Dolberg with a shirt-showing celebration after scoring against NEC Nijmegen in the Dutch Eredivisie on Sunday.

The Nigerian striker held up Dolberg’s jersey after scoring Ajax’s goal in their 1-1 draw, with the gesture intended to rally support for the Danish forward, who suffered a cruciate ligament injury in September that ruled him out for the rest of the season.

Arokodare disclosed after the match that he got the idea from his Super Eagles teammate Osimhen while they were together with the Nigerian national team.

‘When Victor Osimhen was in the national team, he came up to me and told me to do this. So I have to thank him,’ Arokodare said.

The 25-year-old, who joined Ajax on loan from English Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers during the summer, has now scored seven goals for the Dutch side.

He described Dolberg as an important player and a good person, expressing particular sadness over the injury because the striker had been working his way back to his best form.

‘He was about to return to his old form. That’s why the situation is even more sad,’ Arokodare said.

The Nigerian added that displaying Dolberg’s shirt was his way of encouraging Ajax supporters to continue backing the injured forward.

‘That’s how I wanted to tell the fans that they should continue to support him,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Ajax were held to a 1-1 draw by NEC Nijmegen in their eighth league match of the season. Arokodare scored for the hosts before Tjaronn Chery equalised for NEC.