Riccardo Calafiori returned to Mikel Arteta’s starting eleven in place of Myles Lewis-Skelly during Arsenal’s 3-1 away victory against Brentford.
Calafiori entered the Arsenal team alongside the likes of Thomas Partey and Ethan Nwaneri who were also on the bench against Ipswich Town in the game before.
Surprisingly, Lewis-Skelly has somewhat claimed the position of his own, and it remains to be seen whether Calafiori was starting on merit or whether his young teammate was simply being rested.
In truth, the Italian still looks slightly raw as a left-back, his strongest position is still playing centrally.
However, utilising Calafiori’s height and power as a full-back is clearly something Arteta is keen to do, a similar experiment to when the Arsenal manager tried to transform Havertz into a number eight.
Gabriel Martinelli shares new ‘Tarzan’ nickname for Riccardo Calafiori
One benefit to having Calafiori at left-back, one that Arteta must have realised himself, is the boost in performance to Gabriel Martinelli ahead of him.
Martinelli benefits from playing with Calafiori on the left, the Italian seems to invert into midfield less than some of his alternatives, perhaps offering his Brazilian teammate more freedom.
READ MORE: Ethan Nwaneri given a new Arsenal song after his performance in 3-1 victory vs Brentford
And once he got his goal against Brentford, Martinelli was playing with a fearless verve that Arsenal fans have missed.
That being said, Martinelli seemed to recognise Calafiori’s impact when replying to his Instagram post after Arsenal’s much-needed win.
Calafiori uploaded a photo celebrating alongside Martinelli after the winger had scored in with a caption saying: “Starting 2025 with 3 points.”
Martinelli then shared a rather humorous response saying “My guy Tarzan”, seemingly comparing Calafiori’s long locks to the Disney character.
It was a nickname that a lot of Arsenal fans enjoyed with one replying: “I can suddenly see it!”
Myles Lewis-Skelly likely to return against Brighton
Of course, it will now be interesting to see how Arsenal’s left-hand side develops in the coming weeks and months.
It seems most likely that Lewis-Skelly will return against Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League next, with Arteta suddenly enjoying the luxury of choice.
The pair will likely be fairly interchangeable over the coming weeks given their differing strengths – a real positive for Arsenal.
In addition, Thomas Partey was excellent against Brentford, meaning Arteta has a tough decision to make in midfield too.
But amid a tough run of fixtures, it’s the definition of a ‘positive problem’ for the Arsenal boss, who is being forced to rotate his eleven much more often than last season.
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