William Saliba gives verdict on Riccardo Calafiori’s Arsenal debut and new partnership

William Saliba believes new Arsenal signing Riccardo Calafiori will have an instant impact at the Emirates this season.

Calafiori made his first appearance for his new club on Sunday afternoon as the Gunners eased to a 2-0 win over Lyon in their final friendly match before the start of the new Premier League season.

Arsenal begin their campaign against Wolves on Saturday, looking in fine form as they cruised past the Ligue 1 side with Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes on the score sheet from close range.

Calafiori, who joined the club from Bologna in a £42million deal, came on for his debut after 64 minutes, intiially taking up a role at left-back after replacing Oleksandr Zinchenko.

He moved inside to centre-half following the introduction of youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly, partnering Saliba late on in the contest.

The France international was impressed with what he saw from the Italian during their time together on the pitch.

‘Yeah, I’m so happy for him,’ Saliba told Arsenal’s official website.

‘I think it’s only the beginning, he’s a really good player, young as well. We’re so happy to have him with us and I hope he’ll have a really good season with us.’

Mikel Arteta was also impressed with Calafiori’s debut performance.

‘He brings a lot of versatility because he can play in two or three different positions and especially in attack, occupy different spaces because he’s a real defender,’ the Arsenal manager said.

‘When you see his press and physicality, how he goes into duels, it’s unbelievable. And then obviously he’s done a lot last year, he’s a player than can improve us.’

While David Raya’s loan move was made permanent, Calafiori is Arsenal’s only new signing to date with their new season underway this week.

The Gunners remain in the market for a new midfielder with Real Sociedad’s Mikel Merino thought to be their top target.