Calafiori on Arsenal move: "It's a dream"

After completing his move to Arsenal, Riccardo Calafiori revealed putting pen to paper was the culmination of a decade-long dream to sign for a Premier League club.

A whirlwind couple of days has seen the Italian international defender shoot over to Philadelphia to finalise his switch from Bologna, and once the formalities were completed he was introduced to his new teammates ahead of his first training session.

It might have a lot to take in, but now everything is sorted the 22-year-old couldn’t be happier to become a Gunner and finally taste life in English football.

“It feels amazing,” he expressed. “It was tough until now, but finally we’re here and I cannot wait to start to train with the team and play for the fans.

“It’s actually been my dream since I was 12 or 13 years old, because I can see the level of the league here and the best players in the world, for me, play here. It’s a dream and not only for me, but for everybody.”

Like most transfers, talks between ourselves, Bologna and Riccardo went on for some time but as soon as the pieces began to fall into place the defender was swiftly swayed that his future belonged in north London.

He revealed that discussions with Mikel Arteta, our sporting director Edu and his Azzurri teammate Jorginho helped solidify he was making the right call, but having seen our progression over the past couple of seasons from afar, his mind was quickly made up.

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“I spoke a lot with the coach and with Edu, and they convinced me, but I was already convinced by myself,” Riccardo added. “I think it’s the best project for me for the next few years, and I think I will improve as a player.

“I just met [Jorginho] one month ago, but I can see that he’s a really good guy. I was already convinced but he forced me. He said: ‘come, come, come! You will enjoy being here, the team is amazing and the staff, everything is good.' You can see that already from the first few minutes here.”

Having helped Bologna into the Champions League last season by being a part of a backline that recorded the third-best defensive record, Riccardo is now joining a club that conceded the least amount of goals and kept the most clean sheets in the top-flight last term.

Competition for places in our defence just got even more intense, and while Riccardo knows he’ll have to battle hard for a spot in our back four, he can’t wait to get going and not only recognise his dreams of being a Premier League player, but trying to help us lift the silverware.

Looking towards a bright new future, he said: “I came here to play so I will do everything to play and to give something to the team. I hope I can do that from the first few games.

“From my point of view, it’s just the start, the beginning of something bigger. I’m excited to start to play for Arsenal and to win trophies.”