'HE WAS SUPERB'
Warnock reveals Bennett’s dad died three days before he played against Arsenal
It was an emotional night all round for the Bluebirds as their new signing Emiliano Sala is still lost at sea
CARDIFF manager Neil Warnock has revealed that his defender Joe Bennett chose to play against Arsenal despite his father dying three days ago.
The Welsh club are still in shock with their record-signing Emiliano Sala still missing after the plane he was travelling on disappeared from flight radar last week.
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The search for Sala and the pilot David Ibbotson resumed off Guernsey at the weekend.
Their light aircraft vanished eight days ago near the Channel Islands. Sala’s family say they still have hope he will be found.
And in a double blow for all concerned at the club, Bluebirds boss Warnock revealed after the 2-1 defeat to Arsenal that Bennett is also dealing with some personal heartache.
He told Match of the Day: "We talked about Emiliano (Sala) before the game and I thought it was appropriate that we gave a good account of ourselves against a good side and I thought we could've won the game.
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"Joe Bennett was superb. He lost his father three days ago but to then play like that, I'm really pleased with him."
Goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette helped Arsenal to a 2-1 home win at the Emirates.
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing netted what turned out to be a consolation in injury-time.
But Warnock was adamant it was his team's "best performances of the season" - but described the giving away of the penalty as "amateur".
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He added: "What a performance, if Arsenal had our chances they would've beaten us by four.
"Nineteen shots at the Emirates, it's definitely our best performance of the season.
"They should've had a penalty in the first half and I spoke to Bruno (Ecuele Manga) so for him to dive in like that again (on Sead Kolasinac) I'm just really disappointed.
"The players have to think about their responsibility, it was just amateur."
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On whether his side will buy any players in the rest of the transfer window, the 70-year-old gaffer added: "I worked on Emiliano for a couple of months and I can't see us bringing in anyone upfront .
"We won't get anyone like Emiliano, but we could bring in one or two defenders."
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