Arsenal fans told what to expect from ‘very confident’ defender Riccardo Calafiori as Gunners close in on first summer signing

Riccardo Calafiori is a ‘very confident defender’ who has a track record of creating attacking moves.

That’s according to European transfer expert Lars Sivertsen, who gave talkSPORT the low down on the Arsenal-bound Italy centre-back.

talkSPORT understands the Gunners have reached an agreement in principle with Bologna to sign the 22-year-old.

The deal is believed to be worth an initial £34million, rising to £38m in add-ons.

The north Londoners already have William Saliba and Gabriel as their centre-back pairing, who were both rock solid for Arsenal in their attempt to topple Manchester City last season.

But Sivertsen says Calafiori will still be a perfect addition – and the versatile star doesn’t just play at centre-back either.

He said: “A very confident defender, used to play as a left-back when he was younger.

“I think the memory most people will have of him this summer is when he was striding forth with the ball for Italy when they got a last minute draw against Croatia.”

Calafiori joined Bologna last summer, helping them to finish fifth in Serie A last term, rising from ninth place from the season prior.

Under head coach Thiago Motta he was switched to a centre-back role, where he emerged as one of the best players in the league – making 37 appearances in all competitions, scoring twice and providing five assists.

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He kept his new role for Euro 2024, bursting forward from central defence and feeding Lazio winger Mattia Zaccagni who bagged a last-ditch equaliser and broke Croatian hearts.

“That’s quite indicative,” Sivertsen said. “He’s quite a confident guy, he used to play at left-back so is confident moving the ball forward out of defence.

“He’s also a good defender. You can probably use him at left-back if you want to. I think it’s a really interesting addition to Arsenal.

“I think he’s good enough to play for the first-team and he gives them an option for two different positions.”

Despite not being far into his career, the defender got experience outside of Italy before popping up on Arsenal’s radar.

Sivertsen continued: “A really interesting player. He took a slightly roundabout way to reach the levels he’s at now.

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“He was on the books at Roma. He’s from Rome and he was part of the youth set-up and then never quite broke through there. 

“Then he went off to Switzerland to play for Basel, which was an odd thing for a young, promising player to do.

“But he found his groove there and was part of the great Bologna team that surprised a lot of people in Serie A this season.” 

Calafiori’s Bologna contract expires in June 2027.

Arsenal are yet to make a signing this summer, but are still being linked to other Euro 2024 star, Nico Williams.