Riccardo Calafiori has been a revelation at Arsenal this season.
The Gunners signed the Italy international from Bologna in the summer of 2024, and he had a very difficult debut campaign.
Injuries caused a lot of problems for Calafiori last term. He missed 30 games due to six different issues, but things have been a lot different this time around.
The former Roma man has been one of the best left-backs in the Premier League this season, but that was never his position until he joined Arsenal.
Rank these fullbacks from best to worst and explain your answer: Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber, Ben White, Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Mikel Arteta says Riccardo Calafiori had never played as a left-back before he joined Arsenal
Riccardo Calafiori is a very unique footballer.
We have seen many players perform well as a full-back and in central defence, but the Italian can do a job anywhere on the pitch, irrespective of where he starts.
Mikel Arteta has mostly used Calafiori as a left-back at Arsenal, but there have been many times when he has been the furthest player on the pitch – not just on his side but on the right as well.
That takes a special level of skill to perfect, and what makes it so impressive in Calafiori’s case is that he never played in this role before.
After the game against Crystal Palace, when he started as a centre-back, a stat was shared in Arteta’s press conference about Calafiori getting dribbled past very few times this season.
The Arsenal manager was asked if the 23-year-old had what it takes to provide cover for Gabriel Magalhaes in the long term.
Arteta quickly claimed that Calafiori was always a central defender, and it was only after he joined the Gunners that he was made to play at left-back.
He said, as per Football London: “Well, he’s done that (played at centre-back). What he didn’t do before is play as a full-back.
“So, we bought him as well, because we believed that he could do both of them. Those stats are really important, especially if they’re still aggressive to win the ball. I don’t want players just going backwards as they don’t want to be dribbled [past].
“So those two (Calafiori and Gabriel) have a great mindset. Richy’s availability has been really good this season as well, and I think tonight he has played a really good game.”
Where do you see Riccardo Calafiori’s best position at Arsenal long-term?
Left-back or central defence?
Arsenal fans think Mikel Arteta has fired shots at Virgil van Dijk after his comments on Riccardo Calafiori
Arteta’s comments above are clearly in response to a question about Calafiori and Gabriel.
However, one of his statements has been interpreted as a dig towards Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk: “I don’t want players just going backwards as they don’t want to be dribbled [past]”
Van Dijk often retracts and waits for the attacker to make a mistake rather than taking control of the situation by aggressively trying to win the ball back.
Arsenal fans think Arteta was talking about the Dutchman when he made the above statement.
One fan tweeted: “Mentioning VVD without mentioning VVD. My gaffer!”
Another wrote: “This is throwing shades on VVD.”
“He just called out the fake best defender in the world to actually defend,” said another.
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