By Victor Kanayo
Super Eagles sensational midfielder Joe Aribo encountered a disappointing defeat in his debut for Southampton against towering Tottenham Hotspurs in one of the Premier League opening matches on Saturday.
At the end of the encounter, Southampton fell to a 4-1 defeat despite taking an early lead.
Southampton Manager Ralph Hasenhüttl named Joe Aribo in his starting eleven as the 26-year-old made his Premier League debut alongside newbies Gavin Bazunu and Roméo Lavia.
And that big decision appeared to have galvanised the Saints who took the lead through James Ward-Prowse after just 12 minutes.
But Spurs responded to that setback brilliantly and subsequently won.
Aribo signed a four-year deal when arriving from Rangers this summer and the midfielder will have enough opportunities to help the Saints become a better team.
The former Charlton Athletic developed a winning mentality in Scotland, where he scored 26 goals in 149 appearances on the road to winning the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup.
Aribo and the Saints will have a chance to bounce from this defeat when they host Leeds United at St. Mary next Saturday.
Similarly, another Super Eagles player Taiwo Awoniyi made his Premier League debut, but his efforts were not enough, as Newcastle United beat his Nottingham Forest side 2-0 in their opening game.
Forest played their first Premier League in over 24 years when they traveled to St. James’ Park to take on Newcastle United. However, it ended on a sore note.
Nottingham Forest were outclassed on the afternoon.
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