Liverpool legend Barnes tells Wirtz critics to hold fire as he gives ‘ridiculous’ Slot sack verdict

Liverpool legend John Barnes has leapt to the defence of Florian Wirtz and insisted the loud voices criticising the Germany international need to hold their fire before writing him off.

Wirtz became Liverpool’s first £100m signing when he completed his move from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, with huge expectations inevitably inflating around the 22-year-old as he was hailed as a key piece in Arne Slot’s new-look dream team.

So far, Wirtz has failed to live up to the hype in his first few months at Anfield, with manager Slot struggling to find a role to get the best out of the gifted playmaker.

Now Barnes, who won the league title twice with Liverpool in the late 1980s and is widely hailed as one of the club’s all-time greats, has insisted Wirtz will come good as he suggests the problems throughout a revamped team have affected his acclimatisation at Anfield.

Wirtz came under fire for an ineffective display as Liverpool were hammered 3-0 by Manchester City in their last Premier League match, but Barnes has played down fears the German is not suited to English football.

“It’s not all about Florian Wirtz when the team has a bad day,” Barnes told Football365 in an exclusive interview with Video Gamer.

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“As always in football, it needs to be a collective thing and the manager needs to find a way to get Wirtz in the right positions where he can impact the game.

“Wirtz probably had his poorest performance yet against Manchester City in the last match, but I feel he has been playing quite well in the games before that.

“For me, Liverpool’s big problem this season is how they have played when they are not in possession of the ball and Wirtz has been a part of that. The balance has not been there yet, but it’s not all down to one player.

“The team has not been good too often this season and you can look at Wirtz and say he is part of the problem, but I feel his creativity has been good and that’s what we need to see more of.”

Liverpool boss Slot was hailed as a tactical master after he moulded the squad he inherited from Jurgen Klopp into Premier League champions last season, but the Dutchman is facing his biggest test after a challenging start to the season.

Liverpool’s title defence is already on the rocks with more than two-thirds of the season left to play, but Barnes has dismissed suggestions that the Reds manager may come under pressure if he fails to find a solution quickly.

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“Slot’s job is not under threat, but he is under pressure to win football matches, as all managers are,” stated Barnes.

“That’s especially true if you are at a big club like Liverpool and you have just won the league, but the idea that he is under pressure to keep his job, no I don’t see that.

“After winning the league last season, it would be ridiculous to say he is under pressure a few months later, but he needs to win football matches, that’s for sure.”
Barnes went on to suggest Arsenal deserve their tag as title favourites after s solid start to the season, but he warned Mikel Arteta’s Gunners that their biggest tests are still in front of them.

“Arsenal are the team to beat at the moment, but we are in November and let’s see where we are in March and April,” he added.

“Manchester City are just four points behind them now and they are looking good, but Arsenal have a lot of the ingredients you need to win a title.

“They are very, very strong defensively and while it’s not quite going back to the old George Graham days and the old chant of ‘one nil to the Arsenal’, they are keeping clean sheets and finding different ways to win.

“Arsenal are very strong on set pieces, they are solid in midfield and they protect the back four very well. They are probably the most balanced team this season, but let’s see what happens if they get a few injuries and whether they can still grind out results as they have been doing if they lose key players.”