The midfielder’s last goal was in Norway back in 2019.
Afeez Aremu celebrates with Toyosi Olusanya after scoring to make it 1-0
Aberdeen hero Afeez Aremu joked that it had been that long since he scored that he couldn’t even remember his last goal. In fact it was for IK Start against Raufoss back in August 2019. It was 107 games and two clubs ago, to be precise. The 26-year-old netted after only 51 seconds to give the Dons an invaluable three points at home to Kilmarnock. It was his first goal for Aberdeen in only his fifth appearance in red.
He is now hoping to chip in more regularly after breaking his long, barren spell. Aremu failed to score at St Pauli or Kaiserslautern, although his job is more to break things up than create at the top end of the pitch. He joked: “I can’t remember the last time I scored it was that long ago. “I’ve always been looking for second balls that I can get a shot away with. “I like to stay around the edge of the box because all the goals I scored in Norway were from a similar position. “I have been practicing it in training and during the warm-up so if I can get say ten chances I can score maybe seven. “Getting this goal certainly encourages me to take more shots from outside the box and the fans wanted me to do that. “Every time I got near there with the ball they were calling me to shoot but I don’t want to waste the ball if I can use it better. “But we have four games left and I’m hoping for more as it’s given me the confidence to give it a go.” It was a good time for Aremu to score personally. “My family just arrived on the morning of the game from Nigeria so my brother picked them up from the airport,” the 26-year-old confirmed. “It’s better for them to be here as I spoke to my wife before they came that it would be good for the kids to come to an English speaking country. “I made the decision not just for me but for my family’s future as well because I have young kids and I have to plan their future as well. “Even though I was in Germany for a few years it was difficult for me and it’s easy to integrate here.”
Aremu has been nicknamed the vacuum cleaner and his goal, along with the arrival of Stephen Robinson, has helped clean up the mess that had become Aberdeen’s season Back-to-back wins over Hibs and Kilmarnock have left them all but safe. A win at Livingston on Friday would seal it. Aremu said: “This was a big, big win for the team in terms of confidence but we have to keep delivering this sort of performance. “It’s going to be a difficult game at Livingston as they got a win themselves on Saturday. “The Kilmarnock game is in the past now and we have to focus on getting another important win. “We have lots to do because of the teams that are also fighting against relegation. “Progress has been made but we are not there yet and we have to keep going. “If we do win there it should remove any worry about relegation and Livingston are tough to beat despite their position in the table. “Before I came I was told this is a big club that is always playing in Europe and staying in the top six. “I hoped that when I arrived I would be able to help them do that this season but unfortunately that hasn’t happened. “So now we have to win the fight against relegation then next season put Aberdeen up where they rightly belong.”
Robinson has now got his team on the straight and narrow.
The Aberdeen manager believes his team is silencing the critics.
Robinson has worked hard on bonding his players on and off the park in recent weeks. The fruits of his labour are now coming together. Yes, he acknowledged they can play better, but for now it is all about digging things out. That is also back-to-back clean sheets. Aremu confirmed: “He’s worked on bonding at the training ground and in the locker room because there’s so many players from different countries. “We have to get to know each other better which is a good thing and we’ve also been out playing golf together. “That was my first time playing golf and I really enjoyed it even though my shots were bad to I have to play more.” The Nigerian, who was brought in by sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel, also feels he is getting up to speed, as Aberdeen prepare for its final four games. “I spoke with the coach (Peter Leven) when I first came here about my fitness levels and how I hadn’t been playing a lot,” the enforcer claimed. “It was thought when I arrived that Celtic should be my first game but I told him I wasn’t ready because of that. “I feel that I’m just really getting better now.
“I know I’m not at my best yet but feel I’m bringing my quality to the game.
“But what is so lovely is I like the stadium with the stands close to the pitch and the excitement of the fans gives me more energy. “Not only me but my team mates because even when we’ve been losing games they still give us the backing to keep going. “I love everything about the club and the city also especially as it’s good that are wining more now.” A fe big Nigerian footballing names from the past and present helped to sell Aremu on Aberdeen. following in the footsteps of Sir Alex Ferguson. He said:“I spoke to Wilfried Ndidi, who used to play in the English Premier League. “I spoke to Kelechi Iheanacho, who was at Celtic before me. “He knew everything about Aberdeen. “I also spoke to another ex-international player, who is not playing anymore. “Everybody knows about Aberdeen. “They gave me an insight. “I also knew Sir Alex Ferguson was the former coach and I knew I had to come here.”
