Gary O’Neil branded goalkeeper Dan Bentley ‘excellent’, despite Wolves losing 2-1 to Arsenal yesterday.
Wanderers lost 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium, meaning it is now back-to-back defeats in the Premier League.
Early goals from Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard really put Wolves up against it and in the end, it was probably a flattering scoreline for Wolves.
Cunha’s goal lit a fire beneath Wolves at the end but ultimately they left it too late, and Mikel Arteta’s league leaders took all three points.
Wolves were stung in the first-half when Jose Sa was forced off with a back injury, something O’Neil later said thankfully was not serious.
Dan Bentley replaced Sa between the sticks, and drew praise after the game from O’Neil…
Gary O’Neil hails Dan Bentley after he replaced injured Jose Sa in Arsenal defeat
Bentley had not featured at all in the Premier League before Sa went off injured at the Emirates.
He is the number two at Molineux and had only played in the two Carabao Cup matches against Blackpool and Ipswich Town.
But Bentley showed no signs of rust in north London, and made a string of good saves to keep Wolves in the game. His save to keep out Leandro Trossard was particularly impressive.
O’Neil hailed Matheus Cunha as ‘a top player’ following his goal and performance yesterday, but the head coach also picked out Bentley for some praise. He said (Wolves official): “A big mention for Bents as well because I thought he was excellent when he came on and made some important saves as well.
“It’s not easy as a number two goalkeeper because you don’t play that often and when you do, you need to be ready to perform at the top level, so I was really pleased with him because I thought he played well.”
Well played Bentley
It is nice for O’Neil to pick out Bentley for some praise as he does not get many opportunities to feature for Wolves. Sa is firmly established at Molineux and so, it’s difficult for Bentley as the number two.
The £10,000-a-week star‘s performance yesterday against Arsenal was solid, and impressive considering how little he has featured this season.
He has spoken before about not just being at Wolves to make up numbers – he very much wants to be the number one and is trying to push Sa.
That is exactly the mentality you need from your number two goalkeeper, as it helps the number one to improve his own game.
It looks as though Sa is going to be fit to play against Burnley on Tuesday, but it’s encouraging to know Bentley has put in a good performance against a top side.