Mikel Arteta says he expects new signing Riccardo Calafiori to play both centre-back and left-back at Arsenal after his transfer from Bologna was confirmed.
The Italy international has been snapped up by the Gunners on a long-term deal, adding strength in depth to what was the Premier League’s most stringent defence last season.
Calafiori has joined up with his new squad ahead of their pre-season friendly against English rivals Liverpool and, speaking before that clash, Arteta revealed his delight in getting the deal over the line.
The Spaniard said: “Yes, very happy. It took a while. He is a player that we have monitored for about a year. We were really short in the backline last season in terms of numbers. We demanded so much from them. Wily [Saliba] for example played every minute of the Premier League and we believe that we have to make them much more protected. We identified him as a top player, a talent who has the skills and qualities that are going to make us better. He is still a player with a huge capacity to develop.
“Both positions especially and the way we want to play and the things we want to evolve. In our game model he is a player who is going to fit really well for what we want.
“Yes, I am very happy that we got Riccardo done. As I said, I think it was very important to have reinforcement in the back line, with the issues we had last year especially once Jurrien [Timber] was injured. It increases the competition, increases the quality and very good news for the team.”
Arteta added that more options at the back will prevent Arsenal stars like Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba burning out in future seasons.
He revealed: “Especially the numbers. We ended up with six defenders in the backline. At this level you have to be really lucky to sustain a season like this.
“We were lucky because Willy and Gabi could play every minute, they played more than 50% more minutes than the previous season. Whether they can sustain that for three or four years is a big question mark. At this level you can’t just bet on that. That’s a big bet, and we didn’t want to take it.”
Arsenal head into the Liverpool having recently downed Manchester United 2-1 thanks to goals from Gabriel and namesake Martinelli.
