{"id":1192,"date":"2026-04-01T04:21:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T04:21:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/?p=1192"},"modified":"2026-04-01T04:21:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T04:21:21","slug":"arrogance-over-signing-arsenal-player-for-e50m-already-planning-how-to-use-him-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/?p=1192","title":{"rendered":"Arrogance over signing Arsenal player for \u20ac50m &#8211; Already planning how to use him"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.sportwitness.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Riccardo-Calafiori2.jpg\" alt=\"Riccardo Calafiori\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-574588\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.sportwitness.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Riccardo-Calafiori2.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/cdn.sportwitness.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Riccardo-Calafiori2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.sportwitness.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Riccardo-Calafiori2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.sportwitness.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Riccardo-Calafiori2-630x420.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.sportwitness.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Riccardo-Calafiori2-640x427.jpg 640w, https:\/\/cdn.sportwitness.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Riccardo-Calafiori2-681x454.jpg 681w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Riccardo Calafiori has been an important player for Arsenal since his arrival from Bologna. Now, there is the possibility of him returning to Italy after a two-year spell in England.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span>This season, the defender has played 29 times accross all competitions, with 22 of those appearances coming in the Premier League. He had started every game until the start of December but familiar injury worries led to him being used less ..<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>He has mainly been used as a left-back, but for the Italian national team he has showcased trademark versatility by playing at centre-back.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Azzurri star is now attracting attention from Serie A again, with arrogance growing over the chances of signing him.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span>Inter Milan keen on Calafiori<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linterista.it\/primo-piano\/calafiori-puo-essere-l-ago-della-bilancia-possibile-il-passaggio-a-4-189064\"><span>The Interista<\/span><\/a><span>  describe the Arsenal player as a major summer target for Inter Milan. They believe Alessandro Bastoni is \u2018destined\u2019 to join Barcelona, leaving the Nerazzurri looking around for a replacement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Riccardo Calafiori is seen as that player, with the outlet confident that the Gunners won\u2019t pose difficulties over an exit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Beyond that, they believe Inter are now ready to commit<\/span><span>  \u20ac50m over a permanent deal. They would use the finances earned from the sale of Bastoni, with plans being built about how to use the Arsenal star.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Calafiori is viewed as perfect for Cristian Chivu\u2019s 3-5-2. He plays in that shape regularly for the Azzurri and should be used there against Bosnia too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>If Chivu later plans on shifting to a back-four, Calafiori will be used as a left-back. He has played in that position during his time at Bologna and this led to the move to the Emirates.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The 23-year-old\u2019s versatility is seen as a big need of the hour, with Inter to push for the signing if given the chance.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span>Our take: Deal with Arsenal unlikely to be easy<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>As of now, there is no reason for the Gunners to part ways with Riccardo Calafiori. While he has faced injury worries, he remains a more than useful squad player who can fix multiple holes in the squad.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Besides, he is also at the right age and his worth has only increased since he joined Arsenal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>There are no signs that he wants an exit either, with the defender appearing well settled in London. While he has <\/span><span>mentioned<\/span><span>  his wishes of returning to Italy, those desires aren\u2019t immediate by any means.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>His current deal at the Emirates runs out in 2029, which will make any move for Inter quite difficult in the summer.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea EXCLUSIVE: Castello Lukeba \u203c\ufe0f<\/p>\n<p>\u27a1\ufe0f Source confirms to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Kaus_Pandey17?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Kaus_Pandey17<\/a> that Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United interested<br \/>\u2795 Defender tempted by move to Premier League<br \/>\u27a1\ufe0f Summer decision will depend on project offered<a href=\"\"><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/afc?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#afc<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/lfc?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#lfc<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/afc?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#afc<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Sport_Witness\/status\/2036790932901691567?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 25, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 2 -->\n    <\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Riccardo Calafiori has been an important player for Arsenal since his arrival from Bologna. Now, there is the possibility of him returning to Italy after a two-year spell in England. This season, the defender has played 29 times accross all competitions, with 22 of those appearances coming in the Premier League. He had started every [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1192\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}