Arne Slot makes 'special' Liverpool claim and 'upside down' Florian Wirtz admission

Florian Wirtz and Curtis Jones have impressed for Liverpool in recent weeks, helping fire Arne Slot's side up the Premier League table and into the Champions League spots

Florian Wirtz in action during the Premier League game between Liverpool and Wolves.(Image: Simon Stacpoole/Offside via Getty Images)

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot says Florian Wirtz is still getting used to the intensity of the Premier League despite his good form in recent weeks.

Wirtz has been a standout performer with Liverpool chalking up four wins on the spin, beating Inter Milan, Brighton, Tottenham and Wolves in the last month or so. But Slot says there is still more work for the German playmaker to undertake before he is physically at the point where Liverpool wants him to be.

"He is the only one who can answer that question," Slot said when probed on Wirtz's adaptation to a new country. "I can only answer from my experience being an old man... or at least much older than him.

"Being in a new country, because it was also my first time going abroad, it is different. Your life is a bit upside down.

"That, for a manager, is not the biggest problem because I do not have to perform on the pitch, but I can understand people needing time to adapt off the pitch.

"The biggest adaptation coming to this league is the intensity. Even when we played once a week, you can see Hugo [Ekitike] had a cramp after 70 minutes. I did not take Florian out [against Wolves] because he was bad but because he just couldn’t run anymore."

Florian Wirtz of Liverpool during the Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers.(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)

Wirtz has impressed in the last few weeks and Curtis Jones, alongside him, has really come to the fore. Between them, they appear to have a burgeoning relationship.

Slot said last week that this is Jones' best form since he arrived from Feyenoord, and he has now played five lots of 90 minutes in a row in all competitions.

"One of the main qualities he has is that he always wants to have the ball no matter the situation," Slot said. "Ninety-nine times out of 100, that is very positive.

"Sometimes it is smarter to stay away or not go to a difficult situation. But if it is, and he had one in the corner, he is able to bring himself out if the situation and play the ball.

"The most positive thing for him is that he is able to stay fit for four or five games in a row now, 90 minutes every time. That is to do with his performance but if you look at the bench, there is no midfielders that have played more than 10 Premier League minutes so far.

"If we had dropped points, people would have talked about how many players we are missing. But because we have not dropped points no one is talking about that, maybe because they only talk about how much we spent.

"One way of game management is the ability to make substitutions. Last year, when we were one goal up, a lot of times I brought Wataru Endo in.

"I have already said, I don’t know if anyone notices it, but we miss quite a lot of players. That is why it is so special that the players that are fit bring these results."