Riccardo Calafiori has returned to Italy this week as an Arsenal player, but the footballer who steps onto the pitch now is hardly the same individual who left for England two seasons ago. When Arsenal secured his services, Calafiori was primarily featuring as a centre‑back for Bologna, and many of the coaches who had overseen his development questioned whether he could ever excel at the highest level in a left‑back role. Today, however, he is not merely coping with the demands of the position; he is dominating it. Jamie Carragher has even gone so far as to proclaim that Calafiori is "by far the best left‑back in the league." The Italian's impact is evident on both ends of the field.
Defensively, he has become a cornerstone of an Arsenal back line that has looked impregnable at times, contributing to clean sheets and organizing the defensive shape with a maturity beyond his years. Offensively, his contributions have been equally striking.
He opened his Arsenal account by finding the net in the Community Shield triumph over Manchester City, and he has already supplied assists in league victories against Coventry City and Aston Villa, underscoring his dual‑threat nature. One of the most telling moments of his season came in the clash with Chelsea, when a VAR decision denied him a goal‑scoring opportunity. Nevertheless, Calafiori played a pivotal role in the decisive goal scored by Martin Ødegaard. His incisive run inside the space created by Christos Tzolis forced Chelsea's Pedro Neto to drop deeper, effectively turning the opposition's formation into a back five and giving Arsenal a numerical advantage.
As Carragher explained on Sky Sports, "Wherever Calafiori was, Neto was. When Calafiori pushes forward, Neto slides back, creating a fluid back‑five that Chelsea struggled to cope with." Calafiori's influence did not stop there. In the same sequence, his forward thrust dragged centre‑back Maxence Lacroix out of position, opening a 14‑metre gap between Lacroix and his partner Wesley Fofana.
That sliver of space proved sufficient for Kai Havertz to dummy the ball to Ødegaard, who calmly slotted it home. The pattern was familiar to Arsenal fans: a similar move had produced the third goal in the Community Shield win over City, where a Tzolis run, a Havertz dummy and an Ødegaard finish were all orchestrated by Calafiori's under‑lapping run that split the central defenders Ruben Dias and Joško Gvardiol. Carragher summed up the effect succinctly: "You see the space between the centre‑backs—that comes from Calafiori. This is the impact he's having on games at left‑back." Yet, describing his role simply as "left‑back" would be misleading.
Calafiori frequently abandons the traditional defensive line to act as an auxiliary attacker, drifting from the left flank to the right, and even slipping into the centre‑forward zone when the situation demands. In the first half against Chelsea, he transitioned from the left wing to the opposite flank in a matter of eight seconds, bewildering defenders with his unpredictability. Former Arsenal winger Leandro Trossard remarked, "That's Ricci, though! He pops up everywhere—in the pockets, as a striker.
That unpredictability can hurt teams. I know what he can do and where he will appear. Sometimes I can play a blind pass and I know he'll be there." His chemistry with new winger Christos Tzolis appears to be developing rapidly, mirroring the understanding Ødegaard displayed with both City and Chelsea. Calafiori himself acknowledged this evolution before a match against Napoli, saying, "Every season I'm trying to improve these moments on the pitch—where to go and the timing of those runs.
It's a process that involves the whole team; otherwise I wouldn't find myself in those positions." Calafiori is not alone in this tactical fluidity. Ben White also embraces unconventional positioning, at times operating as a hybrid centre‑forward during the Chelsea game.
While White's approach is more conventional than Calafiori's, his statistical output reflects his versatility: he leads the Premier League in overlapping runs and ranks fourth for under‑lapping runs this season. White explained his role to Sky Sports, noting, "Playing full‑back the way Arteta wants is completely different from any other manager.
To play full‑back for him, you've got to be a centre‑mid, a centre‑back, a winger and a No 10." When Arsenal are at full strength, they function like a well‑oiled machine that presents a nightmare for opponents trying to devise a tactical plan. Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso admitted after a 2‑1 defeat at the Emirates, "They push you to the limits. Every player has to be accounted for defensively; no one can be left unmarked for long.
Calafiori epitomises why Arsenal are so difficult to play against." The sheer number of attacking outlets Arsenal possess forces many teams to adopt a low‑block strategy, hoping to limit space and force errors. However, attempting to play an expansive game against Arsenal often leaves a side exposed, as demonstrated by Chelsea's experience. Calafiori's ability to create and exploit gaps, his willingness to vacate the traditional left‑back slot, and his knack for arriving in the right place at the right time make him a linchpin in Arteta's system and a key reason why Arsenal remain one of the most tactically challenging sides in the league today.