Arteta hails ‘unbelievable’ Calafiori after first outing
ARSENAL’S final match of preseason delivered yet another win, as well as a first look at their exciting £42million signing Riccardo Calafiori.
The Italian came on to a raucous reception from the Emirates crowd, and the 22-year-old put in a positive 26-minute cameo, including several drives up field and an almighty sprint back on the break which did enough to put off a Lyon attacker, aided by David Raya’s save.
And manager Mikel Arteta was full of praise for the crowd and the Italian, who joined from Bologna at the end of July and is the north London club’s only summer signing thus far.
‘I just love it when the fans react like that to one of your
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own,’ said Arteta. ‘The way you feel it straight away, it’s love, you are respected, they are right behind you. And that’s an unbelievable platform for someone to join our club. ‘He brings a lot of versatility because he can play in two or three different positions and especially in attack, occupy different spaces because he’s a real defender.
‘When you see his press and physicality, how he goes into duels, it’s unbelievable. He’s done a lot last year, he’s a player that can improve us.’ Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice made their first starts of pre-season, and both delivered the kinds of set-pieces that caused their opponents so many problems last term. Rice, who struggled to meet the pace of the victory over Bayer Leverkusen last Wednesday, looked sharp and match-ready. His passing was crisp and progressive and he put in some good tackles, too. And then to top it off, two of his well-executed corner-kicks — which were right on the money — resulted in goals. ‘I think overall it’s been a positive pre-season,’ said Arteta.
‘It was a success, and then the two games we’ve had here (at the Emirates) have been very competitive. The team was exceptional, especially in the first half, we played at the highest level.
‘We maintained it and we dropped a little bit in the second half. The conditions were tough but good as well. So overall, very pleased.’ Arteta confirmed that versatile defender Jurrien Timber is expected to return to training imminently having overcome his foot problem, but full back Takehiro Tomiyasu is ‘weeks’ away from returning.
at the Emirates Stadium