Arteta reveals the quality that made Arsenal sign Calafiori

Robin Bairner

• 2 Oct 2024 06:15 CDT
• 2 min read

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has revealed exactly why he decided to sign Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna in the summer.

Calafiori turned in a series of excellent displays for Italy at Euro 20224, sparking a race for the Bologna defender’s signature.

While Chelsea were interested in the 22-year-old, it was ultimately Arsenal who won the chase for the former Basel star. The Gunners paid €45 million for Calafiori, a price that is already starting to look a bargain given how well he has settled into the squad.

Current ETV

Riccardo Calafiori

D (CL)

Arsenal

Riccardo Calafiori

D (CL)

Arsenal

€35.6M

ETV Range

€26.7M - €44.4M

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While Arsenal fans are impressed with their new man, so too is Arteta, who has detailed exactly the qualities that made him fight off Chelsea for his new defensive star.

“He has the capacity to occupy different spaces. He’s comfortable with that; he’s done it in Italy. That’s why we signed him,” Arteta explained.

“First of all, he’s a great defender, and he brings presence, energy, and commitment in every action. He’s really brave and doesn’t care about the situation. He wants the ball, wants to make things happen with and he's happy to play in different roles.”

Calafiori shines vs PSG

Calafiori has already displayed this quality in his game. Although typically a centre-back with Bologna, he has featured primarily as a left-back with Arsenal due to the solidarity that William Saliba and Gabriel bring in the middle of the rearguard, but also because of injury issues.

He earned a rating of 7.5 on FootballCritic for his performance against PSG on Tuesday, which ranked third among all players and behind only Gabriel and Kai Havertz, who opened the scoring in favour of the Gunners.

Calafiori won all four of his tackles and completed five clearances, which were both game-high figures.

Since signing for the Gunners on a five-year contract, his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) has risen to €35.6m.