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Mikel Arteta shares how he felt first watching new Arsenal signing Riccardo Calafiori last year
Arsenal have been unusually quiet in the transfer window, with Riccardo Calafiori the only signing the Gunners have made this summer.
Signed from Bologna after a breakout year with the Serie A side coupled with an excellent Euros with Italy, the 22-year-old defender has brought a lot of excitement to north London with his arrival, with William Saliba already impressed by Calafiori.
Able to play left-back and centre-back, the former AS Roma academy star will add depth and quality to two key positions Arsenal had needed heading into the new season, with Calafiori’s skillset one of the most exciting in the entire squad.
And Mikel Arteta has now shared what he thought of Calafiori when seeing him for the first time last year.
Arteta says he ‘fell in love’ with Calafiori one year before Arsenal transfer
Speaking to , the Arsenal manager revealed that he immediately fell for Calafiori after watching him for the first time last year, with the defender since developing into one of the most exciting talents in all of Europe.
With Arsenal winning the race to sign Calafiori, the Italian international will be eager to get started in north London ahead of the new season, where the former Bologna man could play a starring role at the back for the Gunners.
Arteta said when asked why he moved to sign Calafiori and what he likes about the defender: “I fell in love with him, I watched him a year ago and I saw something different, an aura, a charisma, a presence that was not only related to his skill.
“We started to follow a player who was 21 at the time and was reacting to things a 21-year-old normally doesn’t. When I met him, he was so convinced [of the project]. He only wanted to come to Arsenal. He only wanted to play for us”
Calafiori could make Arsenal’s defence impossible to break
Defence might not have been the first thing Arsenal fans thought needed improving this summer, but with Calafiori now through the door, it’s clear that Arteta was right in his justification for moving for the centre-back.
The Italian international brings a skillset no other Arsenal defender has in the squad, with Calafiori a real candidate to begin the Premier League opener against Wolves in the left-back position.
And alongside the likes of Saliba, Arsenal could be the hardest team in the English top-flight to break down, a winning formula for any team looking to win the Premier League title.