Tolu Arokodare: 12 goals in 16 Ajax games make a No. 9 case

Super Eagles forward Tolu Arokodare scored in the third minute of Ajax's 2-2 draw with FC Twente on Sunday, taking him to 12 goals in 16 appearances as Eric Chelle weighs who leads the line against Tanzania.

Oscar Gloukh set up the early strike, and Rayane Bounida made it 2-0 to Ajax in the 66th minute. A Dies Janse own goal pulled Twente back, and Wout Weghorst levelled with a stoppage-time penalty. Arokodare has four assists this season on top of his 12 goals.

The timing matters for Nigeria. Arokodare is one of six forwards in Chelle's 24-man squad for the Tanzania double-header, which leaves out Victor Osimhen, who is injured after knee surgery, and Kelechi Iheanacho. Nigeria host Tanzania at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on Friday 13 November, with the return on Tuesday 17 November.

A scoring run that fits the vacancy

The goal follows his brace against FC Midtjylland, and it keeps him among the most productive Nigerian forwards in Europe this season.

His rivals for the shirt offer different things. Soccernet's earlier look at how Osimhen's surgery reopens the No. 9 race shows Taiwo Awoniyi, Akor Adams and Moses Usor are the other central options in the squad.

Analysis: why the Ajax numbers may not settle it

Arokodare arrives with the strongest recent scoring record of the squad's central options, and a goal inside three minutes is the kind of start Nigeria would want in a home game they need to win. Twelve goals from 16 games is the argument for starting him in Uyo.

The counter-argument is that club form does not always decide national-team selection. If Chelle prefers a mobile front line with Ademola Lookman and Moses Simon on the flanks, Awoniyi or Adams could still start ahead of him. Arokodare's case is strongest if Chelle wants a striker who is already scoring every week.

The team sheet on 13 November will show which route Chelle trusts without Osimhen, and Arokodare has given him a reason to pick the in-form man.