Arokodare Scores First EPL Goal but Laments Wolves’ Late Collapse

Wolves striker Tolu Arokodare admitted the late defeat to Arsenal was ‘hurtful’ as his side once again conceded in the final moments of a Premier League match.

Arokodare, who scored Wolves’ equaliser in the 90th minute at the Emirates Stadium, said the pattern of late collapses has plagued the team throughout the season.

‘It’s hurtful. It’s been happening to us the whole season,’ he told TNT Sports after the 2-1 loss. ‘We play very good for the whole 90 minutes and then at the end we always concede. I don’t know how to explain it but it’s very hurtful.’

Asked whether losing in such dramatic fashion made the defeat feel worse, Arokodare said the team had become familiar with the scenario.

‘Like I said it’s been happening the whole of the season. It is not the first time we conceded in the last minute. It’s something that we have to work on — staying focused to the last whistle — very unlucky for us. Good goal from them and I would say it was a little bit of poor defending from us.’

Despite the disappointment, the Nigerian forward insisted there were positives to take from the performance, particularly given the quality of the opposition.

‘Of course there are a lot of positive things to take, we played against the best team in the league, they are top of the table. Their first goal was from a corner kick, very lucky, we came back and they also scored a last minute goal. Lots of positives to take from this game, we focus on the good and not the bad.’

Arokodare also reflected on his own goal, his first in the Premier League, but stressed that Wolves must become more clinical.

‘We have to score more, we haven’t scored a lot of goals in the last few games. It’s something we’ve been working on. We did have a few chances in the second half and we have that quality but we haven’t been lucky in attacking or defending. Hopefully in the coming games we will score more goals and everything will change.’

Wolves remain bottom of the table and winless after 16 matches, but Arokodare believes performances like this one show the team is capable of turning their season around.