Arsenal linked with €100m Liverpool star struggling at Anfield

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Arsenal have been linked with a move for Florian Wirtz, with the Germany international still searching for his best form at Liverpool.

The report comes from Spanish outlet Fichajes, who claim the Gunners are among the clubs monitoring the playmaker's situation at Anfield. It is worth noting that Fichajes sit well outside the tier-one bracket occupied by the likes of David Ornstein and Fabrizio Romano, so this one should be filed under speculation rather than anything concrete.

Arsenal go into any transfer discussion from a position of strength. The north London side are Premier League champions and reached the Champions League final last season, a platform that allows the club to look at targets who would previously have been out of reach.

A player in search of rhythm

Wirtz arrived at Liverpool in a deal worth more than €100 million and was expected to become the creative centrepiece of the side. Liverpool endured a difficult campaign last season, and while results have improved this term under a new manager, Wirtz himself is still working to settle into English football.

The argument put forward is a familiar one: a change of environment could ease the weight of expectation that has followed the German since his move. Arsenal's possession-heavy approach under Mikel Arteta would, in theory, suit a player whose game is built on tight-space technique and link play between the lines.

His quality has never seriously been questioned. The issue has been consistency of influence, and whether a clearly defined role elsewhere would unlock the performances Liverpool paid a club-record fee to secure.

The obvious obstacle

Any pursuit would run into the same wall. Liverpool spent north of €100m on Wirtz and are unlikely to entertain offers for a player they invested so heavily in after such a short spell at the club.

The report acknowledges as much, suggesting Arsenal would need to commit a fee in the region of Liverpool's original outlay to even open the conversation. Selling a marquee signing to a direct title rival adds another layer of difficulty on top of the raw numbers.

Liverpool's internal view, according to the report, is that Wirtz can still become a central figure at Anfield once his adaptation to the Premier League is complete. That stance would need to shift significantly before any negotiation became realistic.

For now, this registers as interest rather than movement. Arsenal's recruitment team have consistently been linked with elite creative profiles, and Wirtz fits that bracket on talent alone, but the combination of fee, timing and the identity of the selling club makes this one of the more complicated links to emerge this season.

The situation will become clearer over the coming months, with Wirtz's form at Anfield likely to determine whether the story develops any further.