Arsenal may have lost the Premier League title to Manchester City last season, but they have built a competitive team based on a solid defense.
The Gunners conceded 29 goals in the Premier League last season and had the best defense in the league. Their expected goals conceded (xGA) is also only 28.4, the lowest among teams in the top 5 European national championships. Therefore, it is not surprising that Arsenal continues its ambition to make defense the foundation in the new season by recruiting Riccardo Calafiori.
The Italian international is said to be about to move to the Emirates from Bologna for £42 million. This is a relatively high number for a midfielder who only joined Bologna from Basel with a contract of less than 3.5 million pounds a year ago.
Outside of Italy, Calafiori was not known to many people before EURO 2024 took place this summer. However, after nearly a month in Germany, the young Bologna midfielder surprised everyone.
Calafiori was only 22 years and 27 days old when he took the field in Italy's opening group stage match against Albania. He became the Azzurri's second youngest defender to appear at the EURO playground, after Paolo Maldini (19 years, 350 days).
During the EURO 2024 group stage, only four defenders made more than Calafiori's six interceptions. Meanwhile, only 14 people have recovered the ball more than 13 times by this midfielder. The Bologna player also impressed with his aerial combat ability with 7/9 successful duels.
Additionally, in terms of attacking support, only Joshua Kimmich (9) and Jules Kounde (5) created more chances from open balls between defenders than Calafiori did four times.
If a move to Arsenal is completed, it will be interesting to see if Calafiori takes up the left-back or left-sided centre-back position. Gabriel Magalhaes averaged just 0.2 successful dribbles per 90 minutes in the Premier League last season, significantly less than Calafiori's 0.8. Meanwhile, Calafiori created 0.6 chances from open balls compared to 0.1 for the Brazilian midfielder.
It would be surprising if Mikel Arteta split up the center-back pair that was considered the best in the Premier League last season. But on the contrary, leaving Calafiori on the bench is also unreasonable. Therefore, the Italian international may take on the left-back role if he lands at the Emirates.
Previously, Arteta turned Ben White from centre-back to right-back. Therefore, it would not be surprising if the Spanish strategist did the same thing with Calafiori. Furthermore, this is also the role that the 22-year-old player tried before moving to Bologna.
When comparing Calafiori with Arsenal left-backs Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior, the Italian international is superior in basic stats such as interceptions and ball recoveries.
Calafiori's tendency to move into midfield is similar to John Stones' role at Manchester City. The 22-year-old player himself also emphasized that the Man City defender is his "reference". Therefore, although he is often compared to Maldini, Calafiori is more like an English defender.
This is not the first time Arteta has targeted a player in the Man City mold. He even directly recruited two players from The Citizens, Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus.
The "Gunners" are trying to do everything to help the already solid defense become even stronger. But in the end, will that help them close the gap with Man City?
