In Italy's lackluster performance at EURO 2024, Riccardo Calafiori emerged as a bright spot. The 22-year-old star's performance has made fans confident that he will leave Bologna to join the new team in the 2024 summer market.
To get Calafiori's signature, Arsenal had to overcome Juventus, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. The Azzurri's defensive star was given the right to choose and in the end the "Gunners" were the destination. Obviously, Arsenal's appeal after two successful seasons in the Premier League has been a huge support for Mikel Arteta in every player buy deal.
When Arsenal's scouting department reported on the Riccardo Calafiori deal to Mikel Arteta, the Spaniard wanted to own the star. The Gunners even have a plan to sell a defensive player to clear the way for Calafiori to Emirates.
Almost immediately after Mikel Arteta's promotion, sporting director Edu and assistant Jason Ayto reached a deal of up to £42 million. After flying to London for a medical check-up on Saturday, Calafiori signed a 5-year contract with Arsenal and debuted for the new team in Philadelphia (USA) during the tour.
In terms of expertise, during his time playing at Bologna, Calafiori mainly played as a left-back. However, before that, at the AS Roma academy and first team, this star played left-back. This flexibility will be the key to opening up Arteta's many choices when using.
Arsenal started the 2023-2024 season quite slowly in defense. Oleksandr Zinchenko will have to wait until September 2023 to be able to play after recovering from a muscle injury. Takehiro Tomiyasu was injured and suspended at the time. The strongest attack was the case of Jurrien Timber. He suffered an ACL injury right before the campaign start and missed the rest of the season.
Throughout the 2023-2024 season, Arteta has always lacked personnel on the left wing of the defense. Zinchenko, Tomiyasu and Jakub Kiwior took turns taking on this role at different times of the season. Finding a left-back is not simple. The requirements Arteta sets for this position are very specific.
When negotiating to buy Calafiori, Arsenal encountered 3 problems that were very difficult to resolve. First is the price as English teams are often asked to get higher numbers. Then there is the fee of 50% of the selling price Bologna still owes Basel. Finally, his performance at EURO 2024 has made Calafiori sought after by many teams. Arteta believes that although Calafiori's price is not cheap, like the £50 million deal for Ben White in 2021, everything will prove positive in the long term.
Mikel Arteta has a good relationship with Thiago Motta - the new captain of Juventus, who also worked at Bologna last season. Both were born in 1982 and debuted for Barcelona B. This is not the first time Arteta has bought a player under Motta. In January 2023, Kiwior arrived after a season coached by Motta in Spezia. The Calafiori deal at Emirates Stadium also had some impact based on this relationship.
Last season, Calafiori played 30 matches for Bologna in Serie A and that was a test with enough points for him to receive expectations. Bologna's ticket to the Champions League is a testament to the 22-year-old star's contribution to the rankings. Now, arriving at Arsenal, in addition to filling the void on the left wing, Calafiori has also given the "Gunners" more confidence with enough depth to compete with Manchester City.
