Wolves suffered an agonising defeat against Arsenal at the weekend, but Dave Edwards has piled the praise on one player in Old Gold.
Wanderers came so close to taking a point against the Gunners.
Tolu Arokodare’s equaliser prompted scenes of bedlam in the away end, and it looked like Wolves were going to pick up just their third point of the season.
But it wasn’t to be, with some slack defending leading to a late own goal by Yerson Mosquera.
Wolves’ performance deserved a point. But at the same time, not concentrating right until the end can prove costly, as we saw.
But there were undoubtedly positives for Wolves.
And one was the performance of Joao Gomes in midfield.
Dave Edwards lavishes praise on Joao Gomes after performance vs Arsenal
Joao Gomes playing for Wolves.
Photo by Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images
It has been a tough season for Gomes.
Last term’s Supporters’ Player of the Season has struggled to find his best level this time around, although his commitment has never been in question.
Against Arsenal, Gomes played in a midfield three with Andre and Ladislav Krejci, and operated in a hybrid role whereby he came out to the right side at times.
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He covered a lot of ground, and fans really lapped up his display.
And Gomes is the subject of praise for Dave Edwards, who feels Declan Rice actually hated playing against him the other night.
Did Joao Gomes get the better of Declan Rice?
Dave Edwards reckons the Arsenal man 'hated' playing against him 👀
A custom graphic showing a quote from Dave Edwards about Declan Rice and Joao Gomes.
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He said (via Express & Star): “Joao Gomes was probably the best performer on the day.
“I really marvel at the way he wins the ball back because I’ve played in that position when you’re getting beat up at Arsenal, you’re happy for the opposition player to pass it backwards or sideways, to not let them play through you.
“But Gomes wants to win that ball back at every opportunity and you can see Declan Rice absolutely hated playing against him. He was brilliant.”
Rob Edwards also impressed with Joao Gomes
This really was a fine display from Gomes, and one that we need to be seeing as often as possible.
It was also one that led to praise from Rob Edwards for Gomes, who said: “He’s an important player, he’s really good and I thought he was excellent tonight.
“I thought his timing of when to go, some of his regains were brilliant. He was aggressive at the right times and then he gave us a little bit of either a counter-attacking option or a bit of calm and was able to give us a little bit of the ball and take this thing out of the game.”
Was Joao Gomes’ performance vs Arsenal his best of the season so far? 🤔
Rob Edwards was certainly pleased with the Brazilian…
A custom image of a quote from Rob Edwards on Joao Gomes.
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It hasn’t been the season he, or anyone at Wolves, was hoping for. But it has been clear throughout everything that Gomes really cares.
He is perhaps the one player in this squad you can never question, and it is a shame that we are likely now seeing Gomes’ final chapter at Wolves.
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