Arsenal are set to announce Riccardo Calafiori as their second signing of the summer.
The Gunners have already completed a permanent deal for goalkeeper David Raya, and they are about to add more defensive reinforcements ahead of the new season.
HITC revealed on Wednesday that Arsenal scheduled a medical for Riccardo Calafiori after agreeing to a £34million deal for the Italian defender.
Arsenal are expected to finalise the deal imminently and announce the 22-year-old’s arrival.
It has been suggested that Riccardo Calafiori could play at left-back under Mikel Arteta, with the Gunners now open to letting Jakub Kiwior leave.
Sources confirmed to HITC that Arsenal’s plan after capturing Calafiori is to focus on a midfield signing with talks continuing over Mikel Merino.
Stuart Pearce shares view on Riccardo Calafiori
With Calafiori rumoured to fill in at left-back in Arsenal’s system, Stuart Pearce is more than qualified to give his view on the move having played in the position hundreds of times.
Speaking to talkSPORT he said, “Ben White managed to be a centre-half who turned himself into an attacking full-back and I think Calafiori is one of those as well.
“He is happy to advance with the ball, he showed that at the Euros really, really well.
“The only problem he might have is when he has to defend one-on-one situations out wide. That is the mark of a good full-back.”
Riccardo Calafiori at Arsenal
Calafiori showed at Euro 2024 that he is one of the most promising young defenders in Europe and Mikel Arteta is the right coach to develop him in that area.
The Arsenal boss has adopted a defensive structure that sees four centre-backs play across the back line, with White offering plenty of stability on the right and Gabriel and William Saliba playing centrally.
The only weakness was Arsenal’s left-hand side, but Calafiori’s arrival addresses that issue.
The legendary Sir Alex Ferguson famously said that defences win titles and Arteta will certainly hope that is the case next season.
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