'I told him' - Gary O’Neil details hilarious Mario Lemina moment during Wolves 0-2 Arsenal

Gary O’Neil has detailed an amusing interaction he had with Mario Lemina during Wolverhampton Wanderers’ 2-0 loss to Arsenal.

The Wolves head coach, almightily proud of his men despite defeat, repeatedly mentioned the Old Gold’s lack of depth compared to their Premier League rivals. The moans and groans are fair as just 10 senior outfield players were available for the full fixture against the Gunners.

With the attack particularly light in numbers, O’Neil surprisingly decided to bring on Lemina as an auxiliary striker. Partially forced by a planned change to chop out Hwang Hee-chan after around 45 minutes and slightly fueled by a desire to experiment, the switch was surprising yet successful.

Not only did O’Neil learn something new about Lemina, but he also managed to enjoy a witty one-liner with the Gabonese. “We discovered Mario can play as a number nine, which is good,” O’Neil said - tongue in cheek - during the post-match press conference.

“My chat to him, before I put him on, was, ‘I’m sure you’ve played striker in the park as a kid, just go and play up front mate and see if you can score’. He made some good runs in behind,” O’Neil joked.

Lemina wasn’t the only threat for Wolves pushing for an equaliser against Arsenal as full debutant Tawanda Chirewa impressed in a fluid attacking role. The Zimbabwean, signed as a free agent after leaving Ipswich Town in the summer, earned a 7/10 in Birmingham World’s player ratings following a determined display.

“He was good, he handled the ball well in tough situations,” O’Neil said of Chirewa. “He looked like he could handle the physicality of the Premier League. A couple of times up against Saliba, he managed to wriggle out of things which isn’t easy.

“I’m pleased for him because when I’ve put him on in the past he’s felt he’s not quite shown who he is. They’re difficult to go into - Premier League games - off the bench when you’re a young player.

“He has exciting bits, it’s probably unfair to judge him at a Premier League level this early but this is the situation. It’s an incredible opportunity for him,” O’Neil continued.