In their quest to catch Manchester City, Mikel Arteta wants Arsenal to be more unpredictable next season.
And what better way to do that than by signing a player who grew up with the nickname ‘Bulldozer’.
Tall, strong and quick, it is easy to see both why Riccardo Calafiori’s father gave him that tag and why Arsenal are targeting a move for the Italian, who was one of last season’s standout players in Serie A and carried his Bologna form into Euro 2024.
Arsenal want a left-footed defender, and Calafiori, who is valued at around £42million, has the ability to play at centre-back and full-back.
The 22-year-old flourished last season as a centre-back, but he came through the Roma youth ranks as a left-back, which was a problem position for Arsenal last season. Jakub Kiwior, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu all had runs in the team and periods of success, but the left flank was unsettled and in stark contrast to the consistency of Ben White on the other side.
Jurrien Timber, who is fit again after missing all of last season with a knee injury, is an option to play there, but Calafiori could be the answer. He would allow Arteta to play four centre-backs in defence, something Pep Guardiola has done to great effect at Manchester City. “With four central defenders we defend properly in our box,” Guardiola said after their 2023 Champions League Final win. “It’s the biggest step. Now we enjoy defending, and even if we make mistakes I have the feeling that we are defenders.”
As well as giving City more solidity at the back, the move has also given them another weapon in attack, as shown by Josko Gvardiol’s shift last season from central defender to goalscoring left-back.
The similarities between Gvardiol and Calafiori are easy to see, due to their size, but also the way they drive forward. Calafiori was ranked 14th in Serie A last season when it came to the amount of ground he covered dribbling forward. In total, he carried the ball forward 4,024 yards. At Arsenal, only Declan Rice and William Saliba bettered that figure in the Premier League last term.
Calafiori may be nicknamed ‘Bulldozer’, but there is style to go with his size. Having him marauding forward is an exciting prospect, and it would certainly make Arsenal more unpredictable. The Italian most models his game on John Stones. Like Stones, Calafiori is brave on the ball and carries it into midfield. He showed that at Euro 2024, setting up Italy’s late equaliser against Croatia with a brilliant run forward, and no centre-back managed more assists in Europe’s top five leagues last season. He would also provide competition for Gabriel.
His style of play has echoes of Paolo Maldini, who famously once said: “If I have to make a tackle, then I have already made a mistake.”
Calafiori was sixth in Serie A for interceptions last season, registering 50, despite missing eight games. In contrast, he made just 32 tackles.
He thrived under Thiago Motta after Bologna signed him for just £3.4m from Basel last summer.
Calafiori admits Motta has changed the way he plays, especially his reading of the game, but one thing that has always remained is his attitude.
He is a fighter, a trait Arteta loves, and puts that down to battling back from a serious knee injury in 2018, when he was in Roma’s academy. Some feared his career could be over, but he battled back, with Roma legend Daniele De Rossi taking him under his wing. “I often look back at the memories of the rehabilitation period and I think it’s all connected,” Calafiori said recently. “Without those bad moments, I wouldn’t have lived these beautiful ones.”
