Liverpool manager Arne Slot has insisted midfielder Florian Wirtz simply needs time to get back to his best in the face of strong criticism from Arsène Wenger.
The Reds broke the British transfer record to sign Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for £116 million ($152.4 million)—they would break that record once again with Alexander Isak’s £125 million move from Newcastle United—but have been made to show patience towards the 22-year-old during what has undoubtedly been a slow start to his Liverpool career.
With Liverpool struggling as a wider unit, Wirtz has contributed just three assists in 15 games across all competitions for his new side, having been deployed in a number of positions on Slot’s search for his best role in the team.
Wenger Accuses Liverpool of ‘Destroying’ Midfield Balance
Criticism of Wirtz, and Liverpool’s transfer business as a whole, has not been uncommon this season and iconic former Arsenal manager Wenger did not hold back with his recent assessment of Wirtz and his impact on the team.
“Wirtz had the chance between [Bayern] Munich and Liverpool,” Wenger said on beIN SPORTS. “He said to Liverpool, ‘I’ll come to you if I play number 10—I do not want to play wide.’
“To get him, Liverpool said OK. So they destroyed their midfield, because their midfield was [Ryan] Gravenberch, [Alexis] Mac Allister and [Dominik] Szoboszlai.
“To play Wirtz, they took Szoboszlai out, and then what did they do against Aston Villa? They went back to their normal midfield of last year. And [against Real Madrid], they’ve brought Wirtz back but he will play on the side. Because the manager has said [to Wirtz], ‘If you want to play a game, you have to play wide, because I don’t want to disturb the midfield.’ That will be interesting to see.”
Slot: Wirtz Needs Time to Show Best Form
Wenger’s comments were put to Slot ahead of Sunday’s crunch Premier League meeting with Manchester City, and the Reds boss had no interest in entertaining such claims.
“Everyone has a right to his own opinion,” Slot responded.
“We have five or six very good midfielders who can all play together but they need to play more together to get the best out of every single player. Florian needs time to adapt to his teammates and teammates need time to adapt to him. Now he played off the left but I can tell you, if it is not now it is tomorrow, he will have great performances as a midfielder for Liverpool as well.
“He definitely has the talent for it, but it’s not only about one player. It’s also about the team you are playing in. What I can say about Florian is that since Xabi Alonso came in [at Bayer Leverkusen] he was mainly used in a 3-4-3 system as an inverted winger, where before that he mainly played as a 10. In the national team he plays as an inverted winger as well.
“For me the only challenge I have is making sure he gets in those positions, as an inverted winger or as a 10, in and around the 18-yard box where his teammates need to find him with the right timing, because then he will always produce special things. He does this for the national team, he did it for Leverkusen and he’s already done that for us as well.”
Wirtz’s Father Reacts to Midfielder’s Liverpool Start
Wirtz’s decision to join Liverpool in the face of interest from the likes of Bayern Munich and Real Madrid has been questioned with the gift of hindsight, but the 22-year-old’s father has insisted neither he nor Wirtz himself have any concerns.
“My thought from the very beginning was to wait and see how the first 10 league games went,” he told ZDF (via BILD). We and Florian are perfectly happy with that.
“The incredible speed [of the Premier League], the back and forth... That was very impressive for the first few games. The distances covered and the speed were significantly greater [than the Bundesliga]. But the style of play is sometimes enormously different because it doesn’t seem as organised, but rather more focused on pace.
“It was exciting for him to join a team that had certainly grown and had added one or two new players besides himself. And all of them were of a corresponding quality. All of that was quite exciting for him.
“I think the league table clearly shows that there’s still room for improvement in this football machine. But the mechanics will sort that out. I hope he’s such a good player that he can adapt to the demands there and that he enjoys it just as much as he did in the Bundesliga.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Arne Slot Bites Back at Arsene Wenger’s Brutal Florian Wirtz Accusation.
