Since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen this summer, the 22-year-old has struggled to adapt under manager Arne Slot who is still trying to find where he will fit in his side as they try to defend their Premier League title.
The Reds forked out £116M to land the playmaker, who has had critics and pundits on his back as soon as he put pen to paper. Now, speaking to beIN Sports, Wenger believes that Wirtz ruined Liverpool’s midfield at first as Slot threw him in the deep end.
“When Wirtz had the choice between going to Bayern Munich or to Liverpool. He said to Liverpool, ‘I (will) come to you if I play No10, I do not want to play wide’. Liverpool, to get him said, ‘Ok’.
“So they start him, they destroyed their midfield because their midfield was (Ryan) Gravenberch, (Alexis) Mac Allister and (Dominik) Szoboszlai, (and) to play Wirtz they took Szoboszlai out.
“What have they done against Aston Villa? They came back to their normal midfield of last year.
“Tonight (against Real Madrid) they play Wirtz. I am sure the manager has said, ‘if you want to play again you have to play wide because I do not want to disturb the midfield’.”
Wirtz excelled on the winger and was one of Liverpool’s best players alongside the likes of Conor Bradley and Dominik Szoboszlai. However, it is clear that the German international has not fully adapted to English football and he has a long way to go before criticism eases.