Arsenal have officially confirmed the signing of Riccardo Calafiori, with the defender now part of Mikel Arteta’s touring squad.
Riccardo Calafiori has united with Mikel Arteta and his new Arsenal teammates in the US.
After a long-running transfer sage, Arsenal have officially announced the signing of Calafiori from Bologna.
The 22-year-old has joined his Italy international teammate Jorginho at the Emirates Stadium, and will be hoping to play a key role for the Gunners this season. However, it is not yet entirely clear where he fits into Arteta’s plans.
Calafiori is a versatile player, able to play both at left-back and in the heart of the defence. Given that Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba are an established centre-back partnership, and Jurrien Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Jakub Kiwior will all be vying for game time at left-back, the new signing certainly faces a fight to make himself a regular starter.
In any case, Zinchenko recently welcomed the prospect of more competition, and the Gunners’ defensive contingent now boasts formidable strength in depth.
Calafiori certainly has what it takes to become a star at Arsenal, too. Not only is he physically dominant and defensively robust, but he boasts impressive attacking instincts too, has pace, and is comfortable on the ball. Wherever he plays on the pitch for Arsenal, he will help to drive Arteta’s side forward.
Riccardo Calafiori meets Arsenal teammates
As his signing was announced, Arsenal posted a video of Calafiori introducing himself to his new teammates for the first time. The 5-cap Italy international said: “Of course, I am really happy to be here. I waited a lot. I hope we are going to do something great this year.”
The aim for Arsenal this season is clear. Having finished as runners up in each of the last two campaigns, the Gunners will be targeting the Premier League title this time around.
Calafiori clearly shares that ambition, and will be aiming to play a part in making that dream come true.
Calafiori handed Arsenal shirt number
Calafiori will near the No. 33 shirt for Arsenal this season. He wore the same number for Bologna last season, and at Basel before that.
According to The Standard, Calafiori made a “personal request” for Arsenal to give him his preferred shirt number.
Mikel Arteta get his transfer wish
According to The Athletic: “The Arsenal manager has been the driving force behind this deal. Arsenal’s scouting department had tracked Calafiori’s dramatic progress at Bologna but it was Arteta who insisted on pressing ahead with the transfer.”
At one stage, Arteta had to convince the Arsenal hierarchy that Calafiori was a player worth investing in. The fact that the deal has now been done underlines the club’s faith in the manager.
Arteta has earned this faith, as along with sporting director Edu, he has built an Arsenal squad capable of competing for major honours.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
