Arsène Wenger Suggests Arne Slot “Damaged” Liverpool With One Major Summer Signing
Arsène Wenger has reportedly suggested that Arne Slot “damaged” his Liverpool side with a single summer transfer.
Despite winning the Premier League last season, Liverpool spent more than £400 million during the summer window, reshaping the squad in dramatic fashion.
On paper, Slot appeared to have assembled one of the strongest, deepest squads Liverpool have ever had — a team many expected to dominate both in England and across Europe.
But instead, the champions stumbled out of the gate, losing six matches in all competitions and falling seven points behind the new league leaders, Arsenal.
Liverpool have begun to recover, ending a four-match losing run with a win over Aston Villa, followed by another impressive result against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
However, questions still remain about whether the club can rediscover the consistency needed to fight for the major titles. According to Wenger, the biggest issue may have been the decision to disrupt Liverpool’s established midfield in order to fit new signing Florian Wirtz into the team.
Liverpool broke their transfer record to bring in Wirtz for £116 million, but the ex-Leverkusen playmaker has struggled to find his footing at Anfield so far.
He was left out of the starting XI during the win over Aston Villa, then restored to the lineup against Real Madrid a few days later.
Speaking on beIN SPORTS, Wenger described Liverpool as a “fascinating situation.”
He claimed that when Wirtz was choosing between Bayern Munich and Liverpool, he told the Reds he would only sign if he could play centrally as a No.10 — and did not want to be used out wide. Liverpool, according to Wenger, agreed.
Wenger argued that accommodating Wirtz forced Slot to remove Dominik Szoboszlai from his preferred midfield trio of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, and Szoboszlai — a combination that helped Liverpool win the title last season.
He noted that Liverpool went back to that familiar setup for the Villa match.
For the Real Madrid game, Wenger suggested Wirtz would likely be pushed to the wing, with Slot reportedly telling the German star that he would need to adapt if he wanted to keep his place without disrupting the core midfield.
Wenger added that playing wide-left — a role Wirtz has occupied before at Leverkusen — might be the solution.
After Liverpool’s win over Madrid, Slot said he was “very pleased” with the result, praising his players for their energy and resilience during a demanding run of fixtures.
He credited both the Anfield crowd and the significance of facing Real Madrid as factors that pushed his team to a “fantastic” performance.
Liverpool’s resurgence will now face a major test, with a crucial Premier League showdown against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City looming this weekend.
