The Riccardo Calafiori form has made the Italian a valuable asset for Arsenal at the start of the season. The 24-year-old left-back has made a good start to the season, registering an assist in the Gunners’ 3-0 win against Coventry City on Friday, August 21, in the first match of the new Premier League season.
The Riccardo Calafiori form was also evident in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Manchester City in the FA Community Shield match last weekend, as he scored the first goal of the match within 24 seconds to stun the Cityzens.
Riccardo Calafiori Form Has Been Good For The Gunners
Calafiori is into his third season at Arsenal, who are the favourites to defend their Premier League title this season. He has played in 67 matches for them so far and has scored five goals. Before signing for Arsenal, Calafiori made 54 appearances in Serie A, taking his total to 121 matches in his senior club career so far.
Calafiori was signed as a centre-back by the Gunners, but has made a position for himself on the left side of the defence. With Gabriel and William Saliba forming one of the best centre-back pairings in the world, it was almost impossible for the Italian to get into the team as a centre-back.
With Myles Lewis-Skelly now being extensively used as a defensive midfielder by Mikel Arteta, the scope for the Italian to display his attacking prowess as a left-back has increased, and hence, the Riccardo Calafiori form has been on full display for Arsenal in the two matches so far this season.
Arsenal now have a new left-winger in place as well, as Christos Tzolis has also played well in the two matches so far. He registered two assists against Manchester City, and one of his crosses from the left led to Arsenal’s second goal against Coventry City.
Thus, the combination of Calafiori and Tzolis through the left side of the pitch promises to be quite dangerous for Arsenal’s upcoming opponents. The Riccardo Calafiori form is quite important in this regard, and the Arsenal supporters will hope that it continues like this in the upcoming matches as well.
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Calafiori is not quite adept at delivering aerial balls into the box from the left flank, but his ability to get into dangerous positions in the final third and find his teammates with accurate ground passes remains an asset. In addition to that, the Italian possesses good speed to run along the flank and thereby remains a cause for concern for the opposition right-back.
Calafiori spent a considerable portion of the last season on the sidelines owing to an injury. As a result, Piero Hincapie got to play in 39 matches for Arsenal last season. However, in the current season, Arsenal supporters will hope that the Riccardo Calafiori form will help the North London club more than it did last season.
Healthy Competition Within The Squad
There is healthy competition for the position of left-back, as in most of the other positions at Arsenal. With both Hincapie and Lewis-Skelly capable of playing as the left-back, Calafiori knows that he will have to maintain his form to continue to feature in the starting XI.
It now remains to be seen whether the Riccardo Calafiori form continues to help Arsenal, but from the opening two games, the beginning of the new season has definitely been good for the Italian.
