It might be subjective to name Arsenal’s most underrated player in the current squad but there is one name that stands out.
Arsenal have a squad full of talent and a lot of the big stars like Declan Rice, William Saliba and Kai Havertz often win plenty of plaudits.
Beyond the big names, though, are a group of players who turn in consistent performances every week and in the main, go relatively unnoticed.
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You can make strong cases for the likes of Leo Trossard and Jurrien Timber to fall into this category.
But this season, and since returning from injury, it is Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori who has proven he really is Arsenal’s Mr Underrated.
Riccardo Calafiori is Arsenal’s most underrated player
It’s no surprise to see Calafiori’s return from injury coincide with a sharp upturn in form for the Gunners.
After missing six Premier League games with injury, Calafiori has returned in recent weeks and been part of impressive wins over Sunderland and Leeds, while also featuring in Europe.
In those six games he missed, Arsenal dropped points in three, including the 3-2 home defeat to Manchester United.
Since returning, Arsenal haven’t conceded in the league.
Calafiori’s return has also coincided with an uptick in form for Gabriel Martinelli in front of him, while Leo Trossard was also excellent against Sunderland.
That is no fluke, with Calafiori providing the defensive stability for Martinelli and Trossard to know that their defensive help is not needed quite as much as it might be with someone else.
The stats that show Riccardo Calafiori’s importance
Riccardo Calafiori is proving quite the signing for Mikel Arteta.
This season, only Jurrien Timber has made more tackles than him in terms of Arsenal defenders, and that’s with Calafiori missing a big chunk of games recently. Timber tops the whole club with 54, while Calafiori sits on 30. Both Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi are expectedly sandwiched in between.
Furthermore, Calafiori is also in the top five for Arsenal players in terms of duels won. He sits on 84, joint with William Saliba. Again, Timber is the top man here with a whopping 123.
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Calafiori also scores nicely in terms of attacking contribution too, with his crossing and forward passing stats being right up there with the best at the club from defence.
Put simply, the return of Calafiori is massive for Arsenal. It’s little wonder things have improved and while ever he is going under the radar, it seems he’s doing his job perfectly.
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