Riccardo Calafiori has made it clear he’s not joined Arsenal to make up the numbers and “will do everything” to play from the off now that he’s completed his long-awaited move from Bologna.
The Italy international met up with his new teammates in Philadelphia yesterday and is training today ahead of a possible debut against Liverpool later in the week.
While the 22-year-old has experience playing as a centre-back, it’s thought Mikel Arteta will start by using him as a marauding left-back.
What that means for the likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jakub Kiwior remains to be seen although judging by Calafiori’s initial comments – made in fluent English – it could mean time on the bench for the old guard.
“I came here to play, honestly. I will do everything to give something to the team, so I hope I can do that from the first games,” he told Arsenal.com.
“I don’t want to say too much [about how I play],” he added. “I don’t like to speak, I like to play. For sure you will see on the pitch what I can do.”
On completing the move, he added: “It feels amazing [to join] the club, it was tough [waiting for the deal] but finally we’re here and I cannot wait to start to train with the team and play for the fans.”
“I spoke a lot with the coach with Edu and they convinced me, but I was already convinced myself. I think it’s the best project for myself for the next years. I will improve as a player and I hope we’re going to win trophies.
“It actually was my dream since I was 12/13 years old [to move to the Premier League] because I can see the level of the league here, the best players in the world play here. It’s a dream, not just for me but for everybody.”
After an incredible year that has included a move from Switzerland back to Serie A, helping Bologna secure Champions League qualification and playing for Italy at Euro 2024, Calafiori would be forgiven for taking a deep breath. Instead, he’s already looking to the future.
“It’s the beginning of something bigger, so I’m excited to start to play for Arsenal and to win trophies,” he said.
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For more on Calafiori, check out Phil Costa’s new player profile, here.
Looks like a left footed David Luiz, I think Arteta never got over the crush.
Imposing, carrying, creative, long balls.. a lot to like about this guy.
That was my first thought. Hopefully he has the ability to do that “really good going forwards” thing that Luiz had going for him, without the godawful laziness about getting back into position to defend that made Luiz such a liability.
COVID Lockdown Luiz still gives me PTSD
It’s the demands of the modern game. It’s no longer enough for a CB to be good at defending (gen 1), nor is it enough for them to simply be “comfortable on the ball” (gen 2). The bar is now can they add to the threat you create on the ball by offering progression via carry/pass, and maybe even affect the final 3rd from open play (gen 3). Calafiori is a gen 3 CB. There are few of them in world football, but with Saliba, White, Timber and now Calafiori, we have 4 of those guys. That’s fucking immense.
Am I hearing about Lucio?
He looks like an Italian pornstar!
Can he play striker?
Best form of offence is defence!
Didn’t see why we needed to buy another defender given we were the best in the league last season in that department, Kiwior looks likely departure, keeping Zinny in his preferred LM role maybe, the saucey guy in charge of scouting at Bologna turning a 4 mil player into a 42 mil in one season has deserved his bonus with cheese on top ..
Imagine we didn’t concede against West Ham, or Aston Villa.
Not that this is BREAKING NEWS — as I presume you all already KNOW and feel it, — but we are definitely celebrating a trophy or two come May (or February?)
Signings like this one to address areas of need, added to what is an already exciting squad just triggers this rock-solid belief that THIS IS MIKEL ARTETA and ARSENAL’S year! Really excited to see what we do.
His English is great already. That will really help him fit in and establish relationships on the pitch quickly.
Do you guys think we might see a back 3 a little more this year considering our team?. Arteta said he wants to be more fluid and unpredictable.
Martinelli and Saka as wing-backs could be a neat system too. Both so good at defending and attacking.
Hope not. The ugly formation GS used should only be used by small teams with limited resources, ours is 433 and with reason, the best formation ever. Also, the ugly 4231 that maureen popularised should also never be used by us, we’re better than that.
Why would we blunt our attack simply to make the defense, best in the league last year, even better? Are you George Graham in disguise?
Forget that. I want all of the defenders on once we go up 3-0 against City just to see Pep lose his mind
Raya
White Tomiyasu Saliba Gabriel Calafiori
Timber Rice Kiwior
Havertz Zinchenko
I love it!
I for one wouldn’t mind seeing us tinker with back 3. Ricky left, Gabi middle, Saliba right. Zink/Timber as LWB, Ben/Tomi RWB. It could honestly be deadly of the wing backs inverted we could suffocate teams even more. The problem is who comes out, and maybe don’t want to mess with the attacking chemistry.
It’s already a back 3 in the buildup, so for about 60% of an average PL game while the ball is in play. He will be the LCB in that structure, which is perfect for him.
No one is getting pasta him
Especially not with that angel hair.
I hope that’s a vermicelli reference I see there
And, I mean no one gets pasta Bolognese.
You don’t say no to arsenal when they come gnocchi-ng
Resistance is fusilli
Never concedes a penne-lty
Best signing of the window, you don’t have to look farfalle
Hope he is watched by a famous Indian sitar player and we have a sustained spell of passing it around the back where each pass is cheered in the traditional manner by the crowd and he gets a Ravi Ole….
Definitely looks like we’ve got ourselves a bit of a gemelli
Orzo they say…
Please stop!
Orr-ecch(iete) what?
Does he play right back, too? A little a la Sagna?
“I don’t like to speak, I like to play”. He hasn’t kicked a ball for us but I like him already.
Blogs’ new favorite? Center half and as handsome as Bobby Pires?
Anyway, excited to see how he gets on- Italian players rarely acclimate as well as we hope they might.
Jorginho?
He’s Bratalian
“I don’t like to speak, I like to play.” Awesome 😀
I came here to comment.
I came here to snark on your comment and also to make a bad pun about Dick and to propose a lineup that allows us to play him and Karl Hein as inverted left 8’s and to kiss blog’s ass and to say ain’t no way I’m paying good money for that third kit.
Time to tell Gervinho to stop.
He’s not here to ‘play’. He wants to ‘play’.
Credit for getting the business done relatively early, in what must have been a complicated deal. Talk about competition for places at the back!
I am unnaturally quick, my interventions are often brutal, I drink the blood of opposition forwards, I may have to wear dark glasses for early kick offs and I am 22 years old…. Forever.
At least that’s the vibe I get from the picture.
Any chance this could be a DM signing? Good passing, good engine, wins duels all the time?
There’s a 0% chance that that’s the intention. People always seem to want these elegant CB profiles to be midfielders, but what we forget is it’s very different to step up into midfield as a CB and find midfielders than it is to play in front of other CBs and show for a pass. For one thing, the two roles require facing opposite directions. The speed of decision making and the passing angles and options are also wildly different for a midfielder running towards a pass with a defender on his back than for a CB stepping forward with nobody… Read more »
Welcome. Amazing he even has a career after his horrendous injury as a youth player. Has lit a fire under him and we will see the benefit. Great addition.
An talented youngster who was binned off by Mourinho then brought to a big English team after establishing himself at a mid-tier club on the continent. I’ve seen this film before!
Welcome to the Arsenal, Calafiori
Such a lovely place, such a lovely place