Tolu Arokodare scored twice and set up a third goal in Ajax's 6-1 win at FC Midtjylland on 5 November 2026. The two goals took his season total to 12 in 820 minutes, one every 68, or 1.32 per 90 across 16 appearances in all club competitions, according to Sportmonks records checked on 6 November.
The match at the MCH Arena in Herning (kick-off 17:45 UTC) stood at 1-1 at the break. Arokodare headed in Oscar Gloukh's delivery on nine minutes. Friday Etim levelled for the hosts on 28. Kjell Wätjen was sent off for a second yellow card on 43. Arokodare then shot in from Abdellah Ouazane's pass on 52 and laid on Owen Wijndal's goal on 59. Marcos Leonardo replaced him on 70 minutes. Twelve minutes later he scored the sixth.
A goal every 68 minutes
We went through every Ajax match since July. Nothing hidden. He has scored in ten of his 16 appearances. Ten games, 12 goals.
| Date | Opponent | Competition | Minutes | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Aug | Sion (away) | Conference League qualifying | 17 | 1 |
| 27 Aug | Sion (home) | Conference League qualifying | 60 | 2 |
| 30 Aug | Telstar (away) | Eredivisie | 90 | 1 |
| 5 Sep | PSV Eindhoven (home) | Eredivisie | 61 | 1 |
| 19 Sep | Excelsior (home) | Eredivisie | 28 | 1 |
| 10 Oct | NEC Nijmegen (home) | Eredivisie | 73 | 1 |
| 22 Oct | Atalanta (home) | Conference League | 24 | 1 |
| 25 Oct | Sparta Rotterdam (away) | Eredivisie | 90 | 1 |
| 31 Oct | AZ Alkmaar (home) | Eredivisie | 74 | 1 |
| 5 Nov | FC Midtjylland (away) | Conference League | 70 | 2 |
Look at the short shifts.
Cameos of 17, 28 and 24 minutes, 69 in all, produced three goals. Cheap to bring on, expensive to ignore. The Conference League split is sharper. Six goals in 294 minutes, one every 49, against six in 526 in the Eredivisie, one every 88. Half of the European haul came against Sion in qualifying. The European totals include the qualifying ties against Vojvodina, Shelbourne and Sion, so the league phase alone gives him three. He has started nine of the 16 games, according to the Sportmonks lineup data, so seven of his appearances began on the bench.
The recent run matters more than the average. He has scored in each of Ajax's last four matches, five goals in 258 minutes, starting with the goal and assist against Atalanta that we covered on 22 October and continuing through the goal that beat AZ Alkmaar on 31 October. Four in a row.
Finishing above the model
According to Sportmonks data, his six shots in Herning added up to 0.90 expected goals. Three were on target and the model logged two big chances missed. Two goals from that is a good night.
Over the season the same data puts him at 3.99 expected goals in the Eredivisie and 4.08 in the Conference League, 8.06 together, against 12 actually scored. A gap of nearly four goals rarely lasts. It will shrink. Still, a striker who keeps arriving in those positions collects enough to make the gap look less freakish, and Ajax keep finding him there.
The Nigerians on the other side
Etim was no passenger. Far from it. His left-footed finish on 28 minutes put Midtjylland level. He came off at half-time after 45 minutes, and Sportmonks credits him with 0.91 expected goals from three shots. Stanley Iheanacho came on for Sofus Johannesen on 60 minutes and played 30, and in that spell Ajax scored three times, through Klaassen, Gloukh and Leonardo, on 67, 74 and 82.
Both Midtjylland players appear in our Nigerians abroad stats tracker.
This article was most recently revised and updated 14 seconds ago
