Nigerian striker Taiwo Awoniyi made an instant impact on his first game back from injury as Nottingham Forest faced off against Arsenal on Tuesday.
After missing 12 straight games due to a groin problem, Awoniyi was named on the bench for his side's Premier League meeting against their London counterparts.
In stark contrast to Forest's recent outings, Forest struggled to get going at the top end of the pitch but did well to repel everything Arsenal threw at them.
With the clash still goalless heading into the half-time break, Awoniyi was sent on in place of Chris Wood.
How did Taiwo Awoniyi fare on his return to action?
Despite Awoniyi's introduction, Forest continued to struggle attacking-wise and conceded the opening goal of the game to Gabriel Jesus in the 65th minute.
As Nuno Espirito's side looked to hit back instantly, they found themselves trailing by two seven minutes later courtesy of Bukayo Saka's strike.
The concession of the second goal spurred Forest into increased attacking intensity and the Tricky Trees got themselves back into the back through Taiwo Awoniyi, who showed great predatory instinct in the penalty area to pounce on a loose ball and finish with aplomb for his third goal in as many matches against Arsenal.
Awoniyi had to wait anxiously for the next 60 seconds as his goal underwent a VAR check but his strike was subsequently confirmed, much to huge cheers from the home side.
Having halved the deficit, Forest took control of proceedings for the final stretch of the game and nearly levelled matters as Awoniyi pounced on yet another loose ball, only for David Raya to repel him this time around.
While Forest fans will be disappointed to have been beaten for a second straight league game, they will be thrilled to have their main talisman back and firing ahead of a crunch run of fixtures in the battle for survival.
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 year ago
