Gary O’Neil said after the 2-1 defeat to Arsenal that Jonny Castro Otto ‘wasn’t available’ for Wolves.
Wanderers came up short in north London against the Gunners, with early goals from Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard giving the team too much to do.
In truth, the result probably flattered Wolves. For a lot of the game it was men against boys, and Wolves were just too passive in the game.
Ultimately, the defending wasn’t good enough and Wolves left it too late to mount a comeback. Matheus Cunha pulled one back on 86 minutes, but Arsenal were able to keep the visitors at bay for the remainder of the match.
Speaking after the game, O’Neil gave an interesting word on Jonny Castro Otto, who missed out on the matchday squad…
Gary O’Neil shares why Jonny Castro Otto wasn’t in the matchday squad vs Arsenal
Yesterday, Jonny missed out on the matchday squad, having made each of the last seven for Premier League games.
Jonny has seriously struggled for game time this season, and it’s possible he might be regretting his decision to stay at the club a little bit.
On Monday, Rayan Ait-Nouri picked up an injury early in the 3-2 defeat to Fulham, which might have suggested a lifeline for Jonny.
But he was nowhere to be seen yesterday and after the game, O’Neil simply said that the player ‘wasn’t available today’. He said (Express & Star): “Jonny just wasn’t available for today, the squad was everyone we had available.
When pushed about a possible injury, or the player refusing to travel, O’Neil added: “Jonny just wasn’t available. I’d rather talk about the players that were here.
“There will be plenty of time to discuss the others when they’re back involved.”
So far this term, £35,000-a-week man Jonny has made just three appearances for Wolves, playing just four minutes in the Premier League.
Ominous times for Jonny at Wolves
It was very interesting to listen to O’Neil speak about Jonny after the defeat to Arsenal.
Not too long ago, O’Neil had been praising the Spaniard saying that he had been training ‘unbelievably hard’. But since making those comments, Jonny has not played and yesterday he was not involved at all.
It is difficult not to read into what O’Neil has said. You would think there might have been more of a chance for Jonny to actually play yesterday given the injury to Ait-Nouri.
The fact he wasn’t even on the bench may mean it’s a potentially ominous time for the player.