{"id":547446,"date":"2025-11-04T01:46:20","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T01:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/547446\/"},"modified":"2025-11-04T01:46:20","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T01:46:20","slug":"arne-slot-dismisses-florian-wirtz-excuse-as-honest-verdict-shared-on-liverpool-struggles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/547446\/","title":{"rendered":"Arne Slot dismisses Florian Wirtz &#8216;excuse&#8217; as honest verdict shared on Liverpool struggles"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Arne Slot on Florian Wirtz&#8217;s adaptation to Liverpool life as the Reds prepare to face Real Madrid in the Champions League<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1_Liverpool-v-Athletic-Bilbao-Pre-Season-Friendly-Anfield.jpg\" alt=\"Liverpool manager Arne Slot (left) and Florian Wirtz (right)\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>(Image: PA)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">Arne Slot says Florian Wirtz&#8217;s adaptation to life at Liverpool is understandable given the step up in intensity from the Bundesliga to the <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/barclays-premier-league\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Premier League<\/a>. And the Reds boss believes the Germany international could look to <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/ryan-gravenberch\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Ryan GravenberchLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Ryan Gravenberch<\/a> as inspiration in his efforts to prove himself in England after his big-money move from Bayer Leverkusen over the summer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\"><a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/florian-wirtz\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"WirtzLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Wirtz<\/a> joined the Reds for a fee that could rise to \u00a3116m in June but has so far found it difficult stamping his class on proceedings, with Slot&#8217;s side losing four of the last five in the Premier League.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">The 22-year-old, who is so far without a goal or assist in the league, came off the bench as the <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/sport\/football\/match-reports\/what-arne-slot-must-heard-32794595\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">champions returned to winning ways against Aston Villa on Saturday<\/a> and could be recalled when the Reds host Real Madrid in the <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/uefa-champions-league\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Champions League<\/a> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>READ MORE: <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/sport\/football\/football-news\/arne-slot-admits-trent-alexander-32804886\" data-tmdatatrack=\"read-more\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"32804886\" data-tmdatatrack-source=\"editorial\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Arne Slot admits Trent Alexander-Arnold doubt as Liverpool challenge put forward<\/a>READ MORE: <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/sport\/football\/football-news\/ryan-gravenberch-explains-liverpool-plan-32804418\" data-tmdatatrack=\"read-more\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"32804418\" data-tmdatatrack-source=\"editorial\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ryan Gravenberch explains Liverpool plan for Kylian Mbappe and addresses contract claim<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">Slot insists he is happy with what the No.7 has contributed so far and has no concerns about the attacking midfielder eventually making the grade at <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/liverpool-fc\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"LiverpoolLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Liverpool<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">\u201cYou can say he [has only] started one of the last four but you can also say he&#8217;s started eight, nine, 10 or 11 already this season,&#8221; Slot said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">&#8220;I&#8217;ve said this quite a lot, it is not being used as an excuse but just how it is, many times we have to play three games in seven days with only two days&#8217; rest in between.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">&#8220;For a player who comes from a different league &#8211; which is a very good league by the way &#8211; nine out of 10 people would agree the Premier League is a bit more intense, especially in all the games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">&#8220;If you look at that then he already played a lot.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">&#8220;He has had his impact in a lot of games but has been unlucky with the end product either by himself or his team-mates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">&#8220;For me, he exactly brought what we expected, a player who created a lot for the team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">&#8220;He will have his goals but I don\u2019t think it comes as a surprise to anyone that if you\u2019re 22 or 23 and come to a different league that you might need some time to adjust to that intensity if you play every three days, with only two days&#8217; rest in between.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">&#8220;Before, Ryan Gravenberch was sitting here (in the press conference) and it took him a while to adjust to the intensity, maybe even longer than it is going to take Florian.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arne Slot on Florian Wirtz&#8217;s adaptation to Liverpool life as the Reds prepare to face Real Madrid in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":547447,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[1121,748,393,2912,4884,179,763,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-547446","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-arne-slot","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-florian-wirtz","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-liverpool","14":"tag-liverpool-fc","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115488908441318301","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=547446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547446\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/547447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=547446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=547446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=547446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}