Liverpool boss Arne Slot has refuted claims made by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger that he “destroyed” his midfield in order to accommodate summer signing Florian Wirtz.

The midfield trio of Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai has been reinstated in recent games, and it has coincided with improved performances and results. Asked about Wenger‘s comments, Slot replied:

“Everyone has a right to his own opinion. 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.”

Mac Allister’s resurgence has been a bigger factor

While integrating new players has impacted the team, it is important not to overlook the fact that Liverpool have been performing better over the past couple of weeks because of the form and fitness of Alexis Mac Allister.

Slot also mentioned in his pre-match conference ahead of the Man City fixture that Mac Allister did not have a pre-season, and he has only been able to find form recently as a result.

If Mac Allister had started the campaign at 100%, we may not be discussing the midfield as being an issue now.

Will Wirtz find his place in this Liverpool team?

Slot seems adamant that the German has what it takes to be a success at Anfield but it’s clear that it wasn’t the plan to move him away from the No.10 position.

Wirtz doesn’t deserve to be given such an important role based on his displays for the club so far, and it will be interesting to see how he is utilised over the coming weeks.

Read more about the Liverpool First Team Squad for 2025/26 here