Relegation Battle: Paul Merson Says Taiwo Awoniyi Could Save Nottingham Forest

Taiwo Awoniyi could be the savior of Nottingham Forest in their quest to survive relegation during the concluding part of the 2022-2023 season.

This is according to former Arsenal midfielder, Paul Merson who is now a pundit on Sky Sports.

Taiwo Awoniyi scored two goals each against Southampton and Chelsea to help Nottingham Forest gain four points in their last two games. The points have helped Forest to remain in the 16th spot on the league table with 34 points in 36 games, three points away from the drop zone.

Stats showed that Taiwo Awoniyi is the first player since 1995 to score two goals in two successive matches.

Paul Merson is expecting the 25-year-old Nigeria international to continue with such form when Premier League title contenders, Arsenal, visit City Ground for Matchday 37th encounter on Saturday, May 20.

For Forest to survive the drop, they must beat Arsenal or beat Crystal Palace on May 28. If they lose these two games, they are likely to return to the Championship next season.

One man who could help Nottingham Forest grab at least three points in their last two games is Taiwo Awoniyi who seems to have suddenly picked up his goalscoring form after his injury-filled debut season at Forest.

“For Forest to go 2-1 down and draw 2-2, it’s a massive, massive point,” Merson told Skysports.

“Awoniyi, who scored the two goals, was a threat. He held the ball up well. I saw him the other week playing away from home and he was taken off, he didn’t do well.

“Now he (Awoniyi) looks a handful, he’s holding it up and playing it simple and scored two goals. They were simple.

“With him playing like that with a couple of games left, I’d be quite shocked if Forest went down from here. To come back with that away record is very, very good.”

He added, “I think it’s going to be hard for the others to catch them. Leicester are virtually going to have to win two out of their three games. It’s a hard one. That point was huge for Forest. They need four out of their last six points.

“They go into the game against Arsenal with a couple of good recent results against them at home. It will be a hard game for Arsenal. If Forest plays like this on the counter-attack, they could pick them apart and cause problems. Arsenal will cause major problems down the other end.

“I think Forest will stay up. Leeds have to win one out of their last two games at least and I’m not sure Leicester can win two out of their three.”