Riccardo Calafiori gets fresh Arsenal boost as Oleksandr Zinchenko struggles again | OneFootball

The new signing was not involved in defeat to Liverpool

Riccardo Calafiori did not make his Arsenal debut overnight, but nonetheless his hopes of becoming the Gunners’ new left-back received a boost.

Arsenal finished their US tour with defeat to Liverpool in Philadelphia after goals from Fabio Carvalho and Mohamed Salah.

Kai Havertz pulled one back at the end of an entertaining first half, but a raft of changes from both sides after the break led to a disjointed game that Liverpool held on to win 2-1.

Just under 70,000 fans had packed into the Lincoln Financial Field and many of them had been hoping to catch their first glimpse of Calafiori after he joined Arsenal on Monday from Bologna for £42million.

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The defender, however, was left out of the squad as he had only had one full training session with his new team-mates and Mikel Arteta did not want to rush him into action.

Calafiori’s absence meant Oleksandr Zinchenko started at left-back and this was a familiar performance from the Ukrainian.

Going forward, he was excellent and played a key role in Arsenal’s goal. Liverpool cleared the ball from a corner and, when Zinchenko received it near the halfway line, rather than go back to goal, he skipped past two players and set Gabriel Martinelli away.

The ball eventually found Martin Odegaard at the back-post and, after a delightful dummy from the Norwegian, Havertz was teed up for a simple tap-in.

If the goal highlighted the best of Zinchenko, then Liverpool’s opener underlined his weaknesses.

Oleksandr Zinchenko produced a familiar performance; excellent going forward but weak at the back

Arsenal were undone by a long ball forward, with Diogo Jota setting it for Harvey Elliott to play in Salah.

Zinchenko struggled with Salah all night and he could get nowhere near him for the goal, with the winger leaving him in his wake and racing through to score.

The dilemma with Zinchenko is whether his prowess on the ball outweighs his vulnerability defensively.

The fact Arsenal have spent £42m on Calafiori would suggest Arteta thinks not and last night underlined why the Italian will have his sights set on becoming the first-choice left-back.

The 22-year-old is excellent on the ball, as he showed for Italy at Euro 2024, but crucially he is an excellent out-and-out defender, too.

Liverpool celebrate scoring through Mohamed Salah

AP

That is largely down to the fact he has spent the past two seasons playing centre-back, whereas the early days of Zinchenko’s career were as a midfield.

Bluntly put, the Ukrainian does not think like a defender and, if greater solidity is what Arteta craves, then Calafiori will fancy his chances in what should be a fierce battle for the left-back spot.

It shouldn’t be forgotten that Arsenal also have Jurrien Timber, who was rested last night, and Takehiro Tomiyasu - who missed the tour due to injury.

There is certainly a time and place for Zinchenko, especially when Arsenal are trying to open up deep defences.

Against top wingers like Salah, though, last night showed how a different option is needed - and Calafiori could be the answer.