Wolves are counting down the hours till they face Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, with Gary O’Neil providing an update on his squad ahead of the match.
Wolves face Arsenal in a highly anticipated clash opening Premier League clash on Saturday, with the Gunners expected to achieve a comfortable victory.
The odds are stacked against Gary O’Neil’s men heading into the match as last term, Mikel Arteta’s ran Manchester City close in the title, falling just short and only losing twice at home.
For Wolves to complete the unthinkable and win at the Emirates for the first time since 2020, they’ll need everyone performing at their highest level – including Matheus Cunha – who has been reported fit by O’Neil for the match.
Cunha’s return isn’t the only boost the visitors have been handed, with O’Neil confirming another in his pre-match press conference.
Gary O’Neil confirms Daniel Podence and Goncalo Guedes will be in the Wolves squad for Arsenal
At the start of the summer, it would have been unthinkable for many to see Daniel Podence and Goncalo Guedes appear on the team sheet for their opening match, but that is now a realistic possibility.
Podence was expected to leave Wolves after enjoying a fruitful loan spell at Greek giants Olympiacos, claiming the Conference League title, while few saw any way back for Guedes at Molineux.
Guedes spent last season on loan at Benfica and Villarreal after the Portuguese attacker claimed he wanted to depart from Wolverhampton.
Now, according to O’Neil, the duo have ‘knuckled down’ in pre-season and given themselves every chance of featuring in the Arsenal match, which will come as a surprise to many.
As relayed by journalist Liam Keen on X, O’Neil was quoted saying: “Both will be part of the matchday squad tomorrow. They’ve knuckled down in pre-season. They’ve both given themselves an opportunity.”
From last season where their exits looked likely to now on the verge of playing for Wolves once more, the narrative towards both players has completely switched in pre-season.
Guedes and Podence can be valuable attacking weapons for O’Neil
Last season, O’Neil was riddled with injury issues and at one point, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Cunha, Hwang Hee-chan and Pedro Neto were all sidelined through injury, leaving his squad thin on the ground.
The Wolves boss was almost forced into playing young attackers Tawanda Chirewa, Nathan Fraser and Leon Chiwome; a trio that wasn’t ready for the demands of top-flight football.
O’Neil perhaps wished he had other attacking players to call upon and now Guedes and Podence are available for selection, it could be worth holding onto them.
Following the sale of Neto to Chelsea, Wolves aren’t exactly stacked with attacking options and one or two injuries – without that duo in the squad – would have left them calling on the youngsters once more.
However, pre-season has proven that the pair deserve a chance to resurrect their Molineux careers and show why the club were wrong to ship them out or consider selling them.