Florian Wirtz had a very tough game against Manchester City.
The Reds were beaten with relative ease by Man City on Sunday, with the 3-0 scoreline summing up just how the game went.
Liverpool were simply not at the races and individual performances were a real concern, with Wirtz in particular struggling with the physicality of the game.
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This has led many to question whether he is cut out for the Premier League, and it is understandably so, although there is evidence to suggest he is.
Former Liverpool player Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, though, has spoken very highly about what set one of his ex-teammates apart, with this the exact player Wirtz should model his game off.
Santi Cazorla celebrates scoring the 2nd Arsenal goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Santi Cazorla is the perfect example of how a player does not need to be strong
Oxlade-Chamberlain had played with some elite footballers in his time, both at Liverpool and Arsenal, but one of the best he said he has played alongside was at the latter.
Santi Cazorla is a player he names as one of the best, even though he said he did not look like a footballer, or at least in training that is.
However, what set him apart is exactly what Wirtz needs to channel, with this first-hand proof that he has all he needs to be a success.
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He defies everything that you think makes someone a footballer,” Oxlade-Chamberlain said about Cazorla on the Fozcast.
“You’re either technically unbelievable and you can not be as good physically or you’re technically not as good but you can be an athlete.
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“He was slow, tiny, not strong, but technically, the stuff he used to do was mind blowing. You just couldn’t get near him. Strength, speed, jumping, he was shambolic.
“It’s like ‘you shouldn’t even be on the same field as us. But the touch, the awareness, just knowing where players are, you couldn’t get near him.”
Florian Wirtz has the technical ability to succeed
One of the things that made Wirtz stand out in Germany was his ability on the ball, with this second to none.
He has shown flashes of this at Liverpool too, proving that he has it in him to dictate the way games can go.
And like Cazorla, he is not the quickest or the strongest, but this will not matter should he be able to show his quality on the ball.
Wirtz is also much more of an athlete than the Spaniard was, suggesting that he may even have a head start, so if he can work on his technical ability in the Premier League, then he can have a very fruitful career.