Arsenal sit top of the Premier League table, and one of their less coveted stars has quietly enjoyed an excellent start to the new campaign.
The Gunners have been outstanding across their first ten matches in all competitions, winning eight of these games and conceding just three goals in the process.
Mikel Arteta’s team strolled past West Ham in their last encounter and will hope to continue their good form after the international break with a run of winnable games against Fulham, Crystal Palace, Burnley and Sunderland.
A number of players have stood out for the North Londoners, although it’s a defender who has arguably been one of the most impressive going forward.
Statistics show Riccardo Calafiori has been one of Arsenal’s biggest goal threats
Arsenal signed Viktor Gyokeres for £63 million in the summer.
The Swede was brought in to score goals in N5, and while he’s found the back of the net three times thus far, a defender is actually not far behind him in the underlying shot data.
According to FBRef, of players that have played more than 180 minutes, only Gyokeres (0.35) has accumulated more expected goals per match than Riccardo Calafiori (0.31).
Meanwhile, only Eberechi Eze (3.17) has taken more shots per 90 minutes than the Italian (2.4).
This is certainly a poor indictment of Gyokeres, who needs to find himself in more dangerous goal-scoring positions and take more shots, but it is also a clear sign that Calafiori is essential to Arsenal’s attack.
The left-back is given licence to roam forward into advanced areas, and he uses this freedom to great effect, popping up in dangerous positions to provide genuine goal threat.
Riccardo Calafiori should be aiming for more than five goals in the Premier League this season
It remains to be seen how sustainable these underlying numbers are for Calafiori, although given his erratic playing style, it’s certain that he’ll continue to venture into uncharted territory in the final third.
Even if these numbers drop off to a more reasonable level for a defender, he should be capable of chipping in with more goals this term.
Calafiori scored the winner against Manchester United, and at least another four strikes, particularly given Arsenal’s quality from set-pieces, should be a realistic return.
The Italy international is the one true maverick in the Gunners’ squad, and his adventurousness should continue to be encouraged by Arteta.
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