Wolves may have lost their opening Premier League game against Arsenal – but there were plenty of positives to take for Gary O’Neil.
Wolves lost 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium, but the Gunners did not put Wanderers to the sword which has been the case in some meetings recently.
Wanderers knocked the ball around well at times, and did have a couple of really good chances.
Had the Jorgen Strand Larsen header gone in in the first-half, it would have made for an interesting second-half.
But it wasn’t to be, and O’Neil will look to pick his players up for this weekend’s game with Chelsea, which will see Pedro Neto return to Molineux following his £54 million transfer to the Blues a couple of weeks ago.
After watching Arsenal and Wolves, pundit Paul Merson was struck by one player he feels could be very important this term for O’Neil.
Mario Lemina ‘could be a key player for Wolves’ in 2024/25
Wolves could not really have had a much tougher opening fixture than Arsenal away.
No one really expected Wanderers to get anything, but the players gave good accounts of themselves and O’Neil was fairly happy after the game.
Wolves will pick up points against other teams by turning in a similar level of performance.
Merson has given some thoughts about Wolves ahead of this weekend’s game with Chelsea, and he reckons Mario Lemina could be integral this term.
He told Sportskeeda: “I think they’ll be fine this season. I’m also a big fan of Mario Lemina, he gets around the pitch well and could be key for Wolves.”
As Wolves fans know, there is additional responsibility this season for Lemina, after he succeeded the departed Max Kilman as captain.
He was given the armband during pre-season and that went down very well with the supporters, who named him their Player of the Season for 2023/24.
Lemina has proven to be a fantastic signing for Wolves since arriving in January 2023 from Nice for around £10 million.
Lemina integral to Wolves
Lemina has arguably been one of the most important signings in Wolves’ recent history.
In 2022/23 he came in at a time when Wolves badly needed an injection of leadership, and he and Craig Dawson provided that.
Had they not come in, it is debatable whether Wolves would have survived relegation that term.
Lemina will indeed be key once again this season as Merson suggests. Wolves are much about hard graft nowadays and nobody epitomises this team more than him.
He is everywhere every game for Wanderers, and is a perfect fit as the new captain given his inspirational performances and big personality.