Arne Slot cannot continue starting ‘genius’ ace for Liverpool, he’s costing them wins

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Liverpool have performed well below their usual standards over the last week or so.

Their first few games of the 2025-26 season were rather impressive, with the club going on a five-game winning streak in the Premier League.

But, over the last seven days or so, they’ve managed to lose against Crystal Palace and Galatasaray.

There are many reasons for this, such as players not gelling, but one of the main problems has been the lack of form that Florian Wirtz has shown.

The 22-year-old has failed to adapt to life as a Premier League player thus far, with his performances being one of the main reasons behind Liverpool’s shortcomings this season.

Arne Slot must axe Florian Wirtz from his Liverpool starting XI

Although Wirtz may have cost Liverpool an initial £100million to bring to Anfield, at the moment, things don’t seem to be working out for the attacking midfielder.

The way that Liverpool are lining up at the moment doesn’t benefit Wirtz’s style of play, even if he’s used in attack over the likes of Cody Gakpo.

This is far from ideal because, when playing for Bayer Leverkusen last year, the German was one of the best players in the world, with his contributions making up most of the Bundesliga outfit’s goals.

With this in mind, it feels like Slot needs to axe him for Liverpool’s next couple of games to try and get things back to how they were.

Because if things continue in this downward spiral, it could turn sour rather quickly at Anfield, which, when the club are gunning for the Premier League and the Champions League, is far from ideal.

Dominik Szoboszlai could be moved into the number 10 for the time being

Although it’s been made clear that Dominik Szoboszlai is better when played deeper, last term, he did a more than solid job as the Reds’ number 10.

He’s been used across the Reds’ starting XI this term, with his best performances coming as a right-back at the start of the season.

Indeed, when used in that position against Galatasaray on Tuesday evening, he failed to perform to the standards expected of him, but he’s allowed to have the odd off game here and there.

In terms of Wirtz, he needs to be taken out of the spotlight and be allowed to work on getting used to Slot’s system, that is, even though he was dubbed a “genius” by Xabi Alonso last term.

Because, if things keep going in this direction, it’s hard to see how Liverpool will even come close to winning the Premier League or Champions League this season.