Arne Slot has explained how Florian Wirtz is the replacement Liverpool needed when Trent Alexander-Arnold ran down his contract to move to Real Madrid.Alexander-Arnold’s efforts to leave his boyhood club have left a sour taste in the mouths of supporters, but Slot and his staff have quickly moved on.A remarkable summer of spending which amounts to £295 million so far, and could feasibly exceed £450 million, has improved a title-winning squad and revamped their setup.Central to that is the British record signing of Wirtz, who has shone throughout pre-season including in his natural No. 10 role in Monday’s 3-2 win over Athletic Club at Anfield.Speaking to LFCTV after the game – which followed an earlier 4-1 victory over the same side – Slot detailed his renovation work and pointed to Wirtz as a replacement for Alexander-Arnold’s creativity.“I think there’s always room for improvement, in every department,” the head coach explained. “We’ve added a few, in my opinion, extra weapons.“Florian has a lot of creativity in the final third. We’ve lost, with Trent, a lot of creativity from the back.“So Trent’s crosses and picking out runners was so special; I think Flo has this quality as well – in a totally different position, but he brings that creativity.“[We have also added] the pace of Hugo, the pace of both full-backs – Milos and Jeremie.“You need to make, in every thing you do, the next step, because our competitors are not sitting still either.“Not only do they try to improve as well, but they’ve also made a lot of signings like we all have.“So that’s why it’s going to be a very interesting Premier League again.”While Liverpool’s interest in Wirtz goes back years, it is likely that their decision to push ahead with a £116 million deal was partly informed by the loss of Alexander-Arnold.The No. 66 was such a unique talent in his starting role as a right-back that it was widely expected that his exit would prompt a change in how the Reds build up their attacks.Now it is set to run through Wirtz as the central hub in a 4-2-3-1, while – as Slot noted – new full-backs Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong will offer more of an orthodox presence with relentless energy up the flanks.So far, the signs are that this could be a successful evolution of an already outstanding side, and Wirtz is key to that.