Riccardo Calafiori loving ‘free bird’ role at Arsenal

Riccardo Calafiori has hit new heights this season, his equalising goal against Leeds United was his second club goal in all competitions this season, taking his output tally to four goals and assist in all competitions, already equalling his tally from last season. Calafiori has become one of the most important members in the Arsenal squad, he has one of the most unique roles in the side, precisely curated by Mikel Arteta to get the best out of the Italian.

Speaking after the win over Leeds, Calafiori admitted, 'I am enjoying this role I have in the team a lot. Obviously every game is different, so you need to be careful with this [free roaming], it’s not as casual as it seems.'

In relation to his role in the team, it’s not something Arsenal fans haven’t seen before. Calafiori has occupied similar positions in previous seasons, but now it appears he’s perfected that role. He spole about his desire to improve further in his role, saying, 'I think this is my best quality, Mikel Arteta knows, and I can still improve a lot.”

Just under a month ago, Arteta spoke ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Sunderland about Calafiori’s role in the team and his recent performances, saying, 'He is a free bird. If you put strings on him, it won’t work. There are players you need to allow to express themselves and not restrict them to certain areas, because that’s where they flow and make others flow.”

Given the rhetoric surrounding Arsenal over the last two years, where outsiders have coined Arsenal a “defensive team” and a “boring team”, it’s incredibly interesting that Arteta has given such a free roaming licence to a defender. That being said, when you evaluate Calafiori’s impact on his side, there’s an argument to be made that he is one of the most important offensive players in the team.

However, in his post-match interview, Calafiori was keen to highlight the strength of the squad and of his teammates, 'I have Piero Hincapié in my position, we know how good he is and also we are different kind of players. Once you need me as a player, once you need him. He knows for sure that we will develop and play really well', Calafiori added.

Arsenal will be hopeful that Calafiori can stay fit for larger portions of this season. He has had a history of picking up injuries in his short time in North London, he’s picked up nine injuries in just over two years at the club, equating to a total of 44 games missed in that time period.

His Ecuadorian counterpart, Hincapié, has been facing injury concerns of his own. He was carried off by Kepa Arrizabalaga when he sustained an ankle injury in the warm-down, after Arsenal beat Leeds.

Calafiori was confident after the match regarding his physical levels and gave some insight about his preparation into the season, he said, 'I feel this responsibility, it’s my third season at Arsenal. Everything comes a bit easier, what the coach wants, what your teammates want. Physically I feel good, you can see that on the pitch.'

He finished by adding some clarity to his role, 'It depends on how you play in the team. If you look at the games with Italy and Bologna that season [2023/24], I was moving around a lot. I like this.' Martin Keown cheekily replied, 'you’re too good to play centre-half!'

Very few players are performing at the level that we’ve seen from Calafiori this season in the Premier League and across Europe, the ‘free bird’ role he has been given by Arteta is certainly maximising his talents.