Sky Sports: Calafiori Has Become One of the Premier League’s Top Left-Backs, Making a Major Attacking Impact

According to Sky Sports, Calafiori has become a key part of Arsenal’s attack through his intelligent movement, with Carragher calling him the Premier League’s best left-back.

This week, Calafiori will return to Italy with Arsenal. Compared with when he left Italy for England two years ago, he has become a completely different player.

When Arsenal pursued Calafiori, he was still often playing as a centre-back for Bologna. At the time, those who helped his development questioned whether he could reach the highest level as a left-back.

But now, Calafiori is not only capable of playing left-back for Premier League champions Arsenal, he has also delivered outstanding performances. “He is the best left-back in the Premier League, and by a long way,” Jamie Carragher said.

Beyond becoming part of Arsenal’s strong defence, Calafiori has also been highly productive in attack this season. He scored in the Community Shield win over Manchester City and provided assists in league victories over Coventry and Aston Villa.

Against Chelsea, VAR ruled Konsa was offside, meaning Calafiori’s goal was disallowed. However, Calafiori still played a key role in Arsenal’s winning goal scored by Odegaard.

During the build-up to the goal, Calafiori moved inside from behind Trossard, successfully drawing Pedro Neto into Chelsea’s five-man defensive line, forcing more Chelsea players behind the ball and further strengthening Arsenal’s control of the match.

Analysing the goal on Sky Sports, Carragher said: “He dictated Chelsea’s shape. Wherever Calafiori was, Neto was there. When Calafiori moved forward, Neto dropped back, turning the team into a back five.”

“Chelsea switched between a back four and a back five for much of the game, and the key was Calafiori’s positioning.”

But Calafiori did not stop making forward runs.

He then moved into the penalty area, taking Chelsea centre-back Lacroix with him and creating a 14.4-yard gap between Lacroix and his partner Wesley Fofana.

That was enough for Arsenal to create danger. Havertz shaped as if to receive the ball before leaving it for Odegaard, who finished comfortably.

But that was not all, because Arsenal had already produced exactly the same move before.

In the Community Shield win over Manchester City, Arsenal’s third goal had the same characteristics: Trossard moved forward and delivered the pass, Havertz let the ball run, and Odegaard calmly scored.

The key was that Calafiori also made an inside run, creating the same large gap between Manchester City centre-backs Ruben Dias and Gvardiol.

Carragher added: “You can see the space between the two centre-backs, and that is exactly what Calafiori created. That is the impact he has on the game as a left-back.”

However, considering Calafiori effectively carries additional attacking responsibilities for Arsenal, can his position really still be called left-back? The Italian player appears all over the pitch, from central striker areas to the right wing.

This happened in the first half against Chelsea. In one attack, Calafiori moved from the left side to the right side and appeared in a completely different position within just eight seconds.

When Sky Sports asked former Arsenal winger Trossard last November how he viewed Calafiori’s unpredictable movement, Trossard said: “That’s just how Ricci is!”

“He appears in different positions, in the half-spaces, and also like a forward. That unpredictability can cause damage to opponents.”

“I know what he can do and where he will appear. Sometimes I can pass the ball without even looking at him because I know he will be there.”

From Odegaard’s goals against Manchester City and Chelsea, it appears Calafiori is also developing a similar understanding with new winger Trossard.

Calafiori is not the only one playing this way. Ben White is also asked to appear in unusual positions during Arsenal’s attacks. Against Chelsea, he sometimes moved into a hybrid striker role.

Compared with Calafiori’s more adventurous movement, Ben White usually takes on a more traditional full-back role. However, his tactical flexibility is shown by this season’s data: he ranks first in overlapping runs in the Premier League and fourth in underlapping runs.

Ben White told Sky Sports in the 2023-24 season: “Playing as a full-back under Arteta, I think it is completely different from what any other manager asks.”

“To play full-back for him, you have to have the qualities of a central midfielder, centre-back, winger and number 10 at the same time.”

When their squad is fully fit, Arsenal are a smoothly functioning team that are extremely difficult to prepare for tactically. After Chelsea lost 1-2 at home to Arsenal, Xabi Alonso said: “They push you to your limits.”

Defensively, every Arsenal player must be considered, and no player can be left unmarked for long periods. Calafiori is a typical example of why Arsenal are so difficult to handle.

This also explains why many teams drop into a deep defensive block against Arsenal. There are simply too many attacking threats to deal with. If they try to go toe-to-toe with Arsenal and leave spaces defensively, they can end up suffering the same fate as Chelsea.