Arsenal close to first signing. Italian national team star heading to north London

Arsenal finished last season with the league’s best defensive record, but Mikel Arteta doesn’t want to rest on his laurels and the defensive ranks are likely to be bolstered by Italian defender Ricardo Calafiori, who shone at the recently concluded Euro. Only the details are missing for the signing of the 22-year-old Italian.

• Arsenal close to signing Calafiori
• Gunners to send £42m to Bologna
• Arteta can take advantage of the player’s versatility

In a few days, a new face should appear at Arsenal. According to Sky Sports, terms have been agreed between the player, agent and Arsenal. The snag that still hasn’t led to the signing of the contract is the clause that will see Basel receive 50% of the sale sum. Therefore, Bologna tried to increase the transfer amount as much as possible.

Arsenal will pay £42 million to the Italian club, thus £21 million will go to Basel. Both Bologna and the Swiss club will profit from the transfer. The AS Roma graduate only moved to Bologna before the 2023/2024 season for just £4 million. Both clubs will thus earn five times the amount after just one year.

But back to football from finance. Why are Arsenal strengthening a defence that has conceded only 29 goals in 38 Premier League games? Arteta simply does not want to rest on his laurels and wants to enter the next battle for the league title with an even better squad.

Calafiori is capable of playing at centre-back and left-back. At Arsenal, he would back up Saliba and Gabriel, who have formed the best stopper duo in the English top flight. Alternatively, he would rotate in a busy match schedule.

A bigger question mark hangs over the left-back position, where Arteta did not have a clear number one last season. Whether due to injuries or performance. Jurrien Timber was absent for the whole season, Oleksander Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomyiasu and Jakub Kiwior all struggled with fluctuating performances as well as minor health issues. In addition, Kieran Tierney returned from a loan spell at Real Sociedad. So the left-back position is really crowded for the Spanish striker.

Calafiori made 37 starts last season, in which he recorded two goals and seven assists. He was a big part of Bologna’s historic qualification to the Champions League. His quality performances on the club scene earned the Rome native an invitation to Luciano Spalletti’s nomination for the Euros. The left-footed defender played full minutes in the regular group, but missed the lost eighth-final against Switzerland due to a card penalty.

He was one of the Azzurri’s best at the Euros and followed up a successful season under Thiago Motta. Calafiori had no shortage of offers, with Juventus and Real Madrid showing interest in addition to Arsenal. However, the 22-year-old defender opted for Mikel Arteta’s project.

How can the 188 cm tall Italian cope with the big competition? Can one of the best Italian footballers at the Euros make the transition to the highest levels of club football?

Source: SkySports, Transfermarkt, Livesport