Mikel Arteta hailed Riccardo Calafiori’s versatility as the Italian continues to impress in his second season in north London.
Riccy signed from Bologna in 2024, but an injury-hit first campaign meant he played just 19 times in the Premier League.
Fast forward 12 months and the defender has already made 16 appearances in the top flight in 2025/26, missing just one league game through suspension.
Having spent most of his time as a centre-back in Italy, Cala has predominantly played as a full-back in England. But after playing alongside William Saliba in the centre of the backline against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup, Mikel believes he’s shown his adaptability in 2025/26.
He said: “What he didn’t do before [coming to Arsenal] is play as a full-back. So we brought him in because we believe that he could do both of them [centre-back and full-back].
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“Riccy’s availability has been really good this season as well and [against Crystal Palace], he played a really good game.”
Calafiori and his teammate will go up against Brighton in the Premier League on December 27, an opponent Mikel has huge admiration for.
He said: “It’s a club that I admire a lot and what they’ve done over the last 10 years is incredible. They have different managers and now Fabian [Hurzeler] has come in and brought some very different ideas as well.
“A lot of energy, a really, really committed team and look very, very together. A lot of quality. They can play in different ways. They have versatile players. So it’s going to be a tough match.”
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