Awoniyi promises goals as Coventry face Arsenal in Premier League

Taiwo Awoniyi has pledged to contribute goals and hard work as Coventry City prepare for their return to the Premier League against Arsenal on Friday. The Nigeria striker is set to begin a new chapter with the club after completing his move from Nottingham Forest in August 2026.

The fixture will mark Coventry’s first match back in England’s top division, with Awoniyi identified as one of the players expected to make an attacking contribution. His stated priority is to score, while also maintaining the work rate he believes will be required at the higher level.

Awoniyi has pointed to some of Nigeria and world football’s most prominent strikers as sources of inspiration. Rashidi Yekini, Thierry Henry and Didier Drogba are among the forwards whose footage he has watched, linking his ambitions at Coventry to the standards set by those players.

He will also share the Coventry dressing room with fellow Nigeria international Frank Onyeka. The two Nigerians are expected to have important roles as the club seek to remain in the Premier League at the end of the season.

Awoniyi arrives after four seasons with Nottingham Forest, where he made 103 appearances and scored 23 goals. His time at Forest included a significant contribution to the club’s successful fight to stay in the Premier League, as well as a run to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.

That experience gives the striker a record of competing at the level Coventry are re-entering. His first opportunity to add to that record will come against Arsenal, with the Friday fixture providing the opening test of Coventry’s return and Awoniyi’s next phase in English football.