Wolves lost for the fourth Premier League game in a row against Arsenal, and one player came in for criticism against Arsenal.
Vitor Pereira watched his side slip to a 1-0 defeat against the Gunners at Molineux, in what was a highly disappointing result in the end.
Wolves did well in the game, and were in a good position after Arsenal had Myles Lewis-Skelly sent off.
There has been plenty of talk about that decision, and there will likely be more in the coming days.
But Wolves did not capitalise on their one-man advantage, and then, to the fury of Pereira, Wolves also went down to 10 men when Joao Gomes picked up a second booking.
On Match of the Day last night, Danny Murphy criticised the Wolves midfielder.
Danny Murphy criticises Joao Gomes after Wolves’ defeat to Arsenal
Lewis-Skelly’s red card presented Wolves with a real opportunity at Molineux.
Wolves did lose Jorgen Strand Larsen to injury, but there was still a chance for the hosts to pull off a much-needed win against the depleted Gunners.
But Joao Gomes getting a second yellow evened the playing field again, and then Riccardo Calafiori put Arsenal ahead.
The game was analysed on Match of the Day, and Danny Murphy couldn’t help but criticised Gomes for his silly challenge.
He said: “The first one he got booked for kicking the ball away, so he’s obviously got to be careful.
“It’s ridiculous. It is (worse than the Lewis-Skelly challenge), it’s a good point. He’s done well this season, he’s been one of their better players and he is all-in. But lack of experience, maybe call it football IQ or whatever, but his manager spoke to him at half-time, he could have made a substitution I suppose. But it’s down to the player – he’s let the lads down, he’s going to feel devastated isn’t he?
A learning curve for Joao Gomes
Everybody knows how Gomes plays.
Ever since he came in from Flamengo, he’s been a tenacious ball-winner, and someone who never shirks a challenge.
Dave Edwards said last season Gomes is Wolves’ best-ever ball-winner, and the Brazilian even carries the nickname of ‘The Pitbull’ for his aggressive play style.
| Joao Gomes’ disciplinary record for Wolves (since January 2023 arrival) |
| Appearances – 73 |
| Yellow cards – 22 |
| Red cards – 1 |
But he made a silly mistake yesterday going in for that challenge, knowing he was already on a yellow card.
Pereira described the Gomes sending off as the turning point in the game, and it did allow Arsenal to come back into the contest.
There is an argument to say Pereira should have taken Gomes off. And going forward, the manager will surely think about that whenever Gomes next receives a yellow card.
Gomes must now learn from this. He picks up too many yellow cards as it is, and he’s got to be more careful going forward.