Riccardo Calafiori had a goal disallowed by VAR in Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Chelsea, but the Italian also played a key role in the winning goal.
“He is the best left-back in the Premier League,” it has been claimed about him.
The former Bologna and Roma player usually operates as a centre-back when representing Italy in the Azzurri shirt, but at Arsenal, he is making his mark as a left-back.
It is precisely this ability to play in several positions, combined with his tendency to advance through the centre from defence when playing for Italy in tournaments such as EURO 2024, that allows Calafiori to have such a major impact.
This was also praised by Sky Sports experts in Britain, who described his movement in the build-up to the winning goal as “absolutely fantastic.”
Calafiori dragged Chelsea defenders with him and created space for the pass, allowing Kai Havertz to make a dummy run before Martin Ødegaard scored the winning goal.
In fact, Calafiori thought he had scored Arsenal’s equaliser shortly after Morgan Rogers’ early opener, when he bundled the ball over the goal line from close range following a chaotic set-piece situation.
However, the goal was ruled out by VAR because Ezri Konsa was in an offside position earlier in the move.
Arsenal eventually found the equaliser through Havertz before Ødegaard scored to make it 2-1.
Jamie Carragher has been full of praise for Calafiori, describing him as “the best left-back in the league” based on his performances.