Pundit says something about Riccardo Calafiori at Arsenal has really shocked him so far
Riccardo Calafiori has had a brilliant start to life at Arsenal. The Italian has already secured his spot as a starter in Mikel Arteta’s team,...
Riccardo Calafiori has had a brilliant start to life at Arsenal.
The Italian has already secured his spot as a starter in Mikel Arteta’s team, and he’s produced in the big moments.
His incredible goal against Manchester City has already made him a fan favourite, while he’s been solid in almost every game he’s played.
It’s genuinely been hard to pick a flaw in Calafiori’s game so far, but speaking TalkSPORT, Adrian Clarke has claimed that he’s been surprised by one aspect of Calafiori’s game so far.
Indeed, the pundit says that he really didn’t expect Calafiori to be as attack-minded as he’s proven to be so far.
Adrian Clarke shocked by how attacking Riccardo Calafiori is
The pundit shared his verdict on Calafiori’s start to life at Arsenal.
Clarke says that he has been really impressed by Calafiori’s performances so far, but he did not that he’s been shocked by how much the Italian gets forward.
“In general, I have been really impressed. I think that he is much more attacking than I imagined he would be, considering he’s a centre-back. You know, he’s happy to be in central midfield, driving forward,” Clarke said.
“He’s helping Martinelli for sure. Having a left footer behind him, that feeds those passes from the inside a little bit quicker, I think, makes a heck of a difference.
“Of all of our defenders, no one makes more passes into the final third than Calafiori.
“I think he is second only to Partey for completed passes in the opposition half, so he’s getting on the ball a lot, giving it to the attackers, and I think that’s a big thing.
“For me, the reason I think he’s going to be hard to shift from left-back is because he’s left-footed.”
Ian Wright also shocked by Riccardo Calafiori
Clarke says he’s been shocked by Calafiori’s performances so far, and he’s not the only one.
Indeed, Ian Wright has also been surprised by Calafiori.
The pundit says he had no idea that Calafiori was this good, and he also thinks that people within Arsenal will have been shocked by the defender.
“Calafiori you know, when Zinchenko came we saw a massive change with the progression of the ball and how Mikel wanted to play. Now, it’s ramped up to another level with Calafiori. I didn’t know he had this much in his armoury,” Wright said.
“For someone who has just come in, you hear people say they need to settle into the team and with their teammates, he’s plug and play, he gets it instantly.
“We’re seeing it, there’s no way we thought we were getting this much of a player, there’s no way.”
Calafiori has been brilliant for Arsenal so far, and if he can keep this level of form up, that £40m fee will look like an absolute bargain.
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