Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori has admitted he was immediately impressed by the club and manager Mikel Arteta, particularly how much the Spaniard wanted to get to know him.
The Arsenal full-back has been speaking to Rivista Undici e Cronache, via Il Napolista, about his arrival his career, his arrival at Arsenal and various other topics.
It’s been a busy few years for the 22-year-old, who appeared set for a different course when he left boyhood club Roma in a €10.2m move to Basel in 2022.
Instead, he impressed so much in his year in Switzerland that he was back in Italy a year later, with Bologna paying €24.5m to bring him back.
His rapid rise continued there, and his performances did not go unnoticed, with Arsenal electing to pay €45m for the defender in the summer as they continued to strengthen Mikel Arteta’s backline.
He’s been in and out of the side during his first season in England but knows he’s on the right path, and under the right manager in Arteta.
“The first thing that comes to mind is the organisation,” he said.
“How much they care about each player from every point of view, both on the pitch and especially off the pitch. As for Arteta, I was immediately struck by how much he cared about getting to know me.
“One day on the phone he sent me some photos of my family and asked me to say what each member of the family meant to me.
“Nothing like this had ever happened to me before, I’m not saying that he convinced me with this alone, but it certainly represented an important moment.”
The last few years have been one which has seen Calafiori slowly developing, initially starting as a centre-back before impressing for Bologna as a left-back.
He’s continued in that role under Arteta at Arsenal, which means taking on new responsibilities as the Spanish coach continues to ask his full backs to be a key component of his style.
That often sees them stepping into midfield and playing a big role in the build-up, and Calafiori has his eye on potentially moving further forward again.
“Thiago Motta and then Spalletti and Arteta changed me a lot, in terms of vision of the game, spaces to occupy, everything,” he added.
“But I also think that there are many defenders with better characteristics than me, that’s why I work so much off the pitch and maybe that makes the difference.
“But there are many things that I still don’t know how to do. Among these is the desire to learn to play in as many roles as possible. For now, I feel like I know how to play two, I would also like to learn a third: midfielder. It is a role that has always fascinated me.”
