Pundit shares what he’s been told about how Riccardo Calafiori plays after he signs for Arsenal

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Riccardo Calafiori is Arsenal’s newest signing, and it’s fair to say there’s a fair amount of intrigue around this deal.

Calafiori looked fantastic at Euro 2024, but many Arsenal fans would be forgiven for not knowing too much about the defender.

Indeed, Bologna aren’t exactly the most well-followed team in the UK, and many Arsenal fans won’t have seen Calafiori play much at club level.

Speaking on the Handbrake Off Podcast, Adrian Clarke has shared some interesting insight on Calafiori.

The pundit says he’s spoken to people who know about Bologna about the defender, and he’s been told a little bit about his style of play.

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What Adrian Clarke has heard about Riccardo Calafiori’s style

The pundit shared what he had been told about the Italian.

“He looked classy at the Euros, and having spoken to people who saw a lot more of him at Bologna they say that this is a confident player who will go into midfield like John Stones,” Clarke said.

“He will travel with the ball at his feet, he has a nice left foot. Bologna played beautiful football under Thiago Motta, so he’s very accustomed to playing out from the back.”

Riccardo Calafiori sounds perfect

Calafiori sounds like the perfect player for Mikel Arteta’s system.

As we all know, Arteta has been heavily influenced by his work with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, so it’s no surprise that he’s gone after a defender who is very similar to John Stones.

Stones has been one of Pep Guardiola’s most important players at Manchester City, and his style of play has revolutionised how centre-backs in the Premier League are meant to behave on the ball.

If Calafiori can be half as good for Arsenal as John Stones has been for Manchester City then the Gunners will have a serious player on their hands.