Arsenal: Riccardo Calafiori on touching Mikel Arteta moment in transfer talks and hopes of a position change | OneFootball

The defender has revealed a gesture from the manager really impressed him

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Riccardo Calafiori has explained the touching gesture Mikel Arteta made which helped convince him to join Arsenal.

Calafiori has impressed during his first season with the Gunners, though has seen his progress hampered by injury as he looks to make the left-back berth his own amid competition from youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly.

The defender is currently away on international duty with Italy and was asked for his impressions on Arteta and his first season with the Gunners, who remain in the Champions League but look set to again miss out on the Premier League title.

Calafiori revealed how Arteta's personal touch proved "important" during transfer talks.

Mikel Arteta

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"The first thing that comes to mind is the organisation," he told Rivista Undici e Cronache. "How much they care about each player from every point of view, both on the pitch and especially off the pitch.

"As for Arteta, I was immediately struck by how much he cared about getting to know me. One day on the phone he sent me some photos of my family and asked me to say what each member of the family meant to me.

"Nothing like this had ever happened to me before, I’m not saying that he convinced me with this alone, but it certainly represented an important moment."

I know how to play two [positions], I would also like to learn a third: midfielder. It is a role that has always fascinated me

Riccardo Calafiori

The Italy defender caught the eye during Euro 2024, stepping up into midfield and contributing important goals, and Calafiori says he hopes to get move chances further forward.

"Thiago Motta [at Bologna] and then [Luciano] Spalletti [at Roma] and Arteta changed me a lot, in terms of vision of the game, spaces to occupy, everything," he added.

"But I also think that there are many defenders with better characteristics than me, that’s why I work so much off the pitch and maybe that makes the difference.

"But there are many things that I still don’t know how to do. Among these is the desire to learn to play in as many roles as possible. For now, I feel like I know how to play two, I would also like to learn a third: midfielder. It is a role that has always fascinated me."