Calafiori Has the Perfect Chance to Build on His Newcastle Masterclass

Arsenal’s clash with Southampton could present Riccardo Calafiori with the perfect opportunity to silence any lingering doubts about his Premier League credentials and prove he can excel in central defence.

Calafiori’s 2024/25 season did not go as planned. Injuries, combined with the emergence of Myles Lewis-Skelly, prevented him from fully cementing his place in the Arsenal squad. He performed decently whenever he featured, but many fans felt he had not lived up to expectations.

Before arriving at Arsenal, Calafiori had impressed with his ability to influence play in an unorthodox role—often described as an “inverted centre-back”.

A Reminder of What Calafiori Brings

Despite being a centre-back at both club and international level, he was granted the freedom to push forward from defence and influence play.

Given how technically gifted and comfortable on the ball he is, he executed that effortlessly for Bologna and the national team.

Arsenal initially envisioned him as an inverted fullback, and while he showed flashes of brilliance in that role, injuries and Lewis-Skelly’s consistency saw him gradually slip into a squad-player status.

Some Gooners may have stopped raving about him, but it only took 45 minutes against Newcastle for him to remind them of his quality.

Replacing the injured William Saliba at half-time, he delivered a man-of-the-match display from central defence.

Gooners saw firsthand how Calafiori inverted into midfield, influencing play in a manner reminiscent of his Bologna days.

The way he overloaded the midfield left Newcastle with no answers. Remarkably, no Arsenal player carried the ball into the Magpies’ final third more than he did.