Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori hopes his injury troubles are behind him and he can play a big role during the final stages of this season.
Calafiori has struggled for fitness since joining Arsenal in the summer from Bologna as part of a deal worth over £40million.
The Italian has just started just 12 games, but he is hopeful that will change after making his latest comeback on Saturday.
Calafiori came off the bench last weekend to score the winner against Wolves in what his first appearance since January 4.
“Of course, I would have liked to play every game, to be fit for all the games,” said Calafiori.
“But, to be honest, most of the injuries that I had, I couldn’t control because I was like hit on the knee. I just had to keep on going. I hope, and I think, I am going to be fit until the end of the season to help the team.
“I was pretty emotional [against Wolves] and it meant a lot for me, but also for the team. I was so happy to give the team the victory, the three points. It was a huge win.”
Calafiori’s goal against Wolves was his second since joining Arsenal. The 22-year-old also struck against Manchester City in September with a brilliant strike and he has revealed he was a forward in his youth.
“When I was a kid, I think like everyone, I was a striker and I liked to score many goals,” he said.
“Then as soon as I arrived to my first professional team, I started to play more at the back. But I thought I had lost this feeling with the goal.
“To be honest, even in training, I am not so good! But then when it comes to the game, it’s different. It’s just…I don’t know…the ball goes in the net!”
Calafiori played as a centre-back at Bologna last season, but before then he spent much of his youth career as a full-back.
The Italian is eager to be versatile going forward and has relished the challenge of playing as an inverted full-back under Arteta.
“It (left-back) was my position for all my career,” he said. “Only last season I played as a centre-back, but I can still do this position.
“The way we play with the left-back, the right-back at Arsenal is completely different from the classic position.
“It is really good for my skills, my qualities and I want to stay fit for the team, to help the team. I think in this new era of football, the key is to be open and be able to play different positions. It’s a quality, I think.”
