Andoni Iraola hits back at Florian Wirtz criticism over Liverpool form: ‘He is helping us in a lot of different areas’

Andoni Iraola believes Florian Wirtz should not be held to different standards at Liverpool and has asked everyone to judge the £100m signing on whether or not he is playing well. Wirtz, signed for a deal worth up to £116m, is yet to score this season and has only got one assist for Liverpool but Iraola said he is pleased with the playmaker’s performances. One of Iraola’s predecessors, Jurgen Klopp, has called Wirtz up for Germany but said people should stop expecting “special moments” from the former Bayer Leverkusen player. And Iraola explained: "He should be judged like everybody else, whether he plays well or doesn't play well. "Mostly I always say how does the team play when you are on the pitch. I am very happy with Florian, I rate him very highly, he understands what we need from him. He is trying to help in every aspect of the game. "Obviously we want him to have assists and goals also, but he is helping us in a lot of different areas. We could give him some rest the other day that I think he needed." Iraola is also urging Ronald Araujo to learn English so the former Barcelona captain can talk to his new Liverpool teammates. The Liverpool head coach praised the defender for the humility he has shown at Anfield and said the Uruguay international is playing more than he expected. Florian Wirtz of Liverpool in action against Fulham (Getty) Araujo, who lost his place in the Barcelona team last season, has become Liverpool’s first-choice right-back, even though he is a central defender by trade. And Iraola said: “I am very happy for him because the first time I talked to him, sometimes you talk to a player and can feel straight away, everything was positive and I think he needed this kind of change. He has come with humility, he came from a big club. “Physically also he has played probably more minutes than we expected. He is finishing the games in a good place physically, he is not cramping. When you are a centre-back and you have to play right-back the demands are different. I like his spirit and now I am pushing him to learn a bit the language, so he can communicate better with the teammates.”