Mikel Arteta reacts as Arsenal sign Riccardo Calafiori in £42m deal

Arsenal have announced the signing of Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna.

The 22-year-old defender, who impressed for Italy at Euro 2024, arrives in north London for a fee of €50m (£42.1m).

He becomes the Gunners’ second new recruit of the summer transfer window after Spain goalkeeper David Raya signed on a permanent basis from Brentford on the back of an initial loan spell.

Comfortable operating at both centre-back and left-back, Calafiori joined Bologna in August 2023 and went on to make 33 appearances for the Serie A outfit in all competitions.

The versatile full-back rose through Roma’s academy ranks as a teen and made his debut for his boyhood side in 2020 before spending a year in Switzerland with Basel.

In his one and only season back in Italy, Calafiori played a key role to help Bologna secure Champions League football for the first time in the club’s long history.

Arsenal sporting director Edu said: ‘It has been a great team effort in completing this transfer and we welcome Riccardo to the family.

‘We identified Riccardo as part of our strategy to sign players who fit our profile and will reinforce our squad to compete at the highest level. He is 22 but brings quality and experience. He will quickly grow into being an Arsenal player.

‘Riccardo has consistently shown his quality for his club and country. He was one of the best players in Serie A last season, and gave strong performances for Italy in the Euros this summer.

‘Mikel and our coaches are excited to start working with Riccardo, and we all look forward to seeing him in our shirt.’

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta added: ‘We welcome Riccardo and his family to Arsenal. He is a great signing and gives us huge strength to reinforce our defence.

‘Riccardo is a big personality and character, with specific skills which will make us stronger as we push to win major trophies.

‘He has already shown great development in recent seasons with his performances for both Bologna and Italy, with his progression and development in the past year being really impressive.

‘We’re looking forward to working with Riccardo, integrating him into the squad, and supporting him in the years to come.’

Who is Riccardo Calafiori and why are Arsenal spending £42m on him?

Analysis from Metro.co.uk Sports Reporter Callum McAvoy…

Calafiori’s career so far

Calafiori spent a decade in Roma’s academy and survived a near-career ending knee injury before making his senior debut in 2020 where he instantly impressed – providing an assist and scoring a (disallowed) goal in a 3-1 win against Juventus.

He didn’t do enough to impress Jose Mourinho however, who loaned him to Genoa before selling him to Swiss side Basel in 2022.

Just one season later he was back in Italy with Bologna where he played an important part in their unlikely run to fifth in the table and Champions League qualification, with his performances seeing him named Serie A Player of the Month for May.

That same month the 22-year-old was called up to the Italian national team for the first time and despite his international inexperience, started all their group games at Euro 2024.

Despite an unfortunate own goal against eventual champions Spain, he caught the eye and provided a crucial late assist against Croatia, but he was suspended for the last-16 clash against Switzerland, where Italy completely crumbled and fell to a 2-0 loss.

What position does Calafiori play?

Prior to Bologna, Calafiori was a traditional left-back, equipped with great pace and good crossing ability.

But under Thiago Motta he was repurposed as a centre-back, capable of playing in a back-three or four, which his speed, strength and height causing problems for opponents.

His fantastic passing range and ability to start attacks has been greatly praised, with some likening the player to legendary defenders Paolo Maldini and Sergio Ramos.

According to Opta, of defenders in Serie A who made a minimum of 10 appearances last season, Calafiori ranked second for recoveries per 90 (7.5), fifth for interceptions per 90 (1.9), joint-fourth for overall assists (5) and ninth for passes per 90 (68.6).

Most notably, Bologna won 16 and lost just three of the 30 league games in which the young star featured in. By contrast they won just two and lost three of the eight he missed.