One Wolves ace’s display vs Arsenal informed Vitor Pereira of relegation-worthy issue in his squad

Wolves suffered their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat on matchday 23, losing to Arsenal at Molineux.

The defeat to the Gunners was a tough pill to swallow for Vitor Pereira’s side, who despite losing again, took the game to Arsenal.

Two controversial decisions saw Myles Lewis-Skelly and Joao Gomes sent off, with the Brazilian’s dismissal paving the way to Arsenal’s victory.

While Nelson Semedo showed his support for Gomes after his second yellow card of the afternoon, it was simply the same old story from the Wolves midfielder.

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Joao Gomes’ red card vs Arsenal spells an even bigger problem for Vitor Pereira

Despite being booked only 36 minutes into the contest at Molineux, Pereira decided to keep Gomes on the pitch, which was an error.

Judging by the midfielder’s track record of fouls in the Premier League, the Wolves manager could’ve avoided going down to ten men before the Old Gold found themselves in trouble. 

Pereira was not impressed by Gomes’ red card, branding the Brazilian’s dismissal as the game-changing moment in Wolves’ defeat.

While Gomes’ lack of control ultimately cost Wolves the game against Arsenal, the bigger picture sends an alarming squad evaluation to Pereira. 

So many have backed Wolves to stay in the Premier League due to the quality of the squad however, individual skill can only get Pereira’s project so far. 

Countless times this season, the Old Gold have suffered at the hands of a lack of leadership and strong-mindedness from individuals, with Gomes the latest to let the side down.

For example, several senior players were blasted against Everton earlier in the campaign for not doing enough to prevent a thrashing at Goodison Park, details that match-by-match, grow into a significant problem. 

The same goes for Matheus Cunha’s attitude against Chelsea, with the Brazilian being Wolves’ best player by some distance but, lacks the mentality to match.

Having gifted players gives Pereira the edge in the race for survival on paper but, when assessing the lack of leadership in the Wolves squad, it’s clear that the Old Gold are in real danger.

Wolves at real risk of relegation

Lack of mentality when it comes to discipline can be the fine line between Premier League survival and, relegation to the Championship.

Such is a real concern for Pereira, whose players are not showing enough to strengthen their claim to survival in the battle against relegation. 

The likes of Leicester City and Ipswich Town are slowly showing fight and control in fixtures to get results, something that Wolves must change if they are to remain in the top flight.

Had Gomes not been sent off against Arsenal, there was some promise that the Old Gold could’ve earned a result.

Change is needed all around at Wolves, with the players needing to re-assess the task at hand to understand the repercussions of failing to lock in for 90 minutes.