Joe Aribo says his got his Christmas wish after scoring his first goal of the season in Southampton’s 5-0 Boxing Day bashing of Swansea City in the Championship.
The Nigerian midfielder opened the scoring in the 17th minute, followed by compatriot Samuel Edozie, Ryan Fraser’s brace and Che Adam’s solo effort.
It was Aribo’s first goal in his 18th league appearance this season and stated it has always been in the making.
“I think for me it’s been a long time coming! Someone asked me earlier today ‘what would I want for Christmas?’ and I said ‘to score’, so I’ve got my wish, thankful to God,” Aribo told the club website.
“The boys have always been around me. when I first came in [to the team] they were speaking to me just saying ‘take it easy, take it easy. Don’t let the occasion get the better of you’. So it is good to be playing and staying in the team. Hopefully, I can just take every game as it comes and just stay in the team for as long as possible.”
Your Christmas wish came true, @J_Aribo19 ????
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) December 26, 2023
Speaking on the win which moved Southampton up to third in the Championship standings, Aribo said: “It’s a massive win for us. It was so important to start fast and play well and it’s always good to get your reward when you get five goals.
“I think for us it’s important because we put in some very good performances of late and sometimes we just were not relentless. Like the manager says, we don’t score maybe as many goals as we should or we’re not clinical in front of goal. But today we were that and it’s a very nice feeling.”
Aribo is among 40 players that have been provisionally called up to the Nigeria national team ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations which begins in the Ivory Coast next month.
