Wolves opened their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal on Saturday.
Most fans did not really expect too much from Wanderers going to the Emirates Stadium, with Mikel Arteta’s side likely to contend for the Premier League title again this term.
Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka got the goals for the hosts, with one coming in each half.
Wolves gave a decent account of themselves though, and had some good spells of possession in the game. Had Jorgen Strand Larsen and Matheus Cunha both been a little more clinical, then it could have been a different story.
But many Wolves fans and also Gary O’Neil were enthused by the performance, and a number of players played well.
One many who has come in for a bit of criticism though is Toti Gomes, with Troy Deeney dealing some particularly harsh criticism.
Troy Deeney slams Toti Gomes after display v Arsenal and also takes aim at Jose Sa
Wolves could not have really asked for a harder opening fixture than Arsenal away.
The Gunners are a very strong outfit, and came extremely close to winning the Premier League in 2023/24.
Many are tipping them to get the job done this time around and for them to finally topple Man City.
So Wolves didn’t do too badly, despite ultimately losing.
But it was not a great afternoon for Toti Gomes, who was selected to play in a back four, partnering Yerson Mosquera in the middle.
While Mosquera really shone in north London, Toti looked a bag of nerves at times and took too much time on the ball at times. He also got himself booked in the first-half.
Speaking on the Ben Foster – The Cycling GK YouTube channel, former Premier League striker Deeney did not hold back. Also criticising Jose Sa, he said: “I don’t know where the goals are coming from. As you’ve seen with the goalie, you’re not going to keep many clean sheets.
“The boy Toti, mate, he falls over his laces. He’s a car crash, remember I said that, he’s a car crash.”
Harsh from Deeney
Toti did not have a good game against Arsenal and he will know that he is much better than what he showed at the Emirates.
But this is far too strong a verdict from Deeney, who has clearly formulated this opinion based off this one game.
Toti has been largely dependable for Wolves and this was his first time playing in a back four with Mosquera in the competitive game.
As Andy Thompson said, he was ‘jittery’ against the Gunners. Admittedly, ball-playing is something Toti does need to work on.
But for Deeney to brand him a ‘car crash’ is going way overboard. To say something is a ‘car crash’ is to imply that something is a complete mess, and a more appropriate use for it would probably be to describe Deeney’s stint as manager at Forest Green Rovers, which lasted just 29 days after zero wins in six games.