Nobody is talking about what Mikel Arteta did to Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori

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Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber are earning high praise at Arsenal, but Mikel Arteta’s influence mustn’t be overlooked.

Arsenal’s tremendous run of form is no fluke, as the defensive strength that the Gunners are showing is testament to Arteta’s back four.

Calafiori and Timber are crucial to Arsenal, being the manager’s perfect idea of how his full-backs should function.

While the praise is earned, Arteta deserves a lot of credit for the level that the duo are operating at, as people seem to forget one crucial element about their profiles.

• READ MORE: Rio Ferdinand ‘absolutely’ disagrees with what he’s heard from Gary Neville about Jurrien Timber

Nobody is talking about Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber’s position change at Arsenal

Calafiori signed for Arsenal in the summer of 2024, and his transfer was not unanimously accepted due to injury concerns.

Arteta pushed to sign Calafiori, and the deal was concluded, but that wasn’t the only significant part of the Italian’s move.

Before signing for Arsenal, the 23-year-old played predominantly as a centre-back, where he currently plays in the Italian national team.

Remarkably, the same goes for Timber, who was a centre-back at Ajax before he moved to Arsenal in 2023.

Now, Timber is one of the best full-backs in the world, but had he not moved to join Arteta’s project, his future very well could’ve been at centre-back.

The Arsenal manager’s work with the pair to transform their games in such a short amount of time has been magnificent, but it often falls under the radar.

We rarely hear of two players signed as centre-backs arriving at a club to become some of the best-performing full-backs in the world, with Arteta deserving credit for such.

Calafiori and Timber: defensive maestros to attacking threats

Arteta had a vision for Calafiori and Timber, and Arsenal haven’t looked back since.

It’s not only the move from centre-back to full-back that is incredible, but also how they have both been unlocked to excel going forward.

Timber and Calafiori’s attacking strengths were celebrated after matchday ten of the Premier League season, and it’s clear to see why.

As Alan Shearer explained on BBC’s Match of the Day, the two defenders rank highly in the Arsenal squad when it comes to areas such as shooting, expected goals and touches in the opposition box.

Arteta saw two profiles he liked and tweaked their positions to transform them into two of the world’s best right now, two changes that could win Arsenal the Premier League.