Florian Wirtz's difficult start to life at Liverpool has been analysed by Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, who believes the Bundesliga's characteristics haven't prepared the German for Premier League football.
The Struggle Since Arrival
Wirtz has failed to score in his first 16 appearances for Liverpool since completing a massive £116 million transfer from Bayer Leverkusen during the summer window. The 22-year-old playmaker has managed just three assists during this period, falling well short of the expectations that accompanied his record-breaking move.
His performances have attracted criticism from pundits including Gary Neville, who brutally described Wirtz as looking "like a little boy" during Liverpool's 3-0 defeat against Manchester City before the international break. Manager Arne Slot has struggled to find Wirtz's best position within his preferred 4-3-3 formation, compounding the player's adaptation issues.
Henry's Compelling Theory
Speaking on Sky Sports ahead of Arsenal's North London derby victory over Tottenham, Henry offered his perspective on why German league stars often struggle to immediately translate their form to English football.
"It's not easy to arrive in a team and perform straight away, as we can see with Florian Wirtz at Liverpool," Henry stated. "But I always have a question mark over people who perform in Germany. That's only me. I'm not saying they won't perform in another league, I'm just saying because of the way the league is there, really stretched, if you can run well you're going to have a lot of opportunities, goals and assists."
The French football legend emphasised that the Premier League presents entirely different challenges, noting that "people can run with you in this league, so it's very difficult."
Modern Football's Tactical Constraints
Henry also identified how contemporary tactical trends work against creative players like Wirtz, who thrive when given space to operate between defensive lines.
"If we talk about creating... do you think that managers now are letting their players dribble? Or do they want to control everything to make sure they don't get countered?" he questioned.
The former Barcelona striker pointed to the prevalence of low defensive blocks in modern football as a significant barrier for playmakers. "Playing a low block all the time means it is not always easy to create. Look at Arsenal: we don't always create a lot of opportunities. We score a lot of set pieces... You're going to create a lot less than we used to be able to do in our time, because teams are playing low and they don't try to bite or come out, so the spaces are tight."
Henry concluded with a fundamental principle of attacking football: "the reward is in the risk." He suggested that without the freedom to take calculated risks and make mistakes, creative players like Wirtz will inevitably struggle to produce their best form.
Wirtz's adaptation challenges were further highlighted when a minor injury ruled him out of Liverpool's 3-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest, leaving manager Arne Slot with mounting pressure to solve the tactical puzzle of how to best utilise his record signing.
