We ‘signed’ Riccardo Calafiori for Arsenal and glaring issue was highlighted

Arsenal have been strongly linked with a move for Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori, but what could happen if the Bologna man made the switch to the Emirates Stadium this summer?

Despite being the best defensive side in the Premier League last season, Arsenal could look to bolster their back line ahead of the new season, with Mikel Arteta interested in bringing Calafiori to north London in the summer transfer window. Calafiori was pivotal in Bologna’s fifth-placed finish in Serie A last season to help them secure Champions League football, and the defender caught the eye once again with some impressive performances for Italy during Euro 2024.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Arteta has given the Gunners the green light to make a move for the 22-year-old, with Arsenal having presented a long-term proposal to the defender. It’s reported that Calafiori is open to the move, with Bologna wanting €50million (£42.3million) for the Italian.

So, if Arsenal were to sign Calafiori this summer, how could he perform for Arteta’s side? Let’s take a look.

Arsenal’s 2024/25 season simulated with Riccardo Calafiori

To set up this simulation, we used Football Manager 2024 to move Calafiori to Arsenal in the summer transfer window before simulating the 2024/25 season. This is how the defender got on.

With William Saliba’s and Gabriel’s partnership working so well, there was no reason for Arteta to drop either of the two, meaning game time was hard to come by for Calafiori. The majority of his performances came in cup competitions along with a few appearances in the league, but when he played, he failed to make any memorable impact.

The defender made 22 appearances in his first season at the club, with 17 of those starts and five off the bench. In those games, his average rating per game was 6.8, the lowest out of all the centre-backs at the club. With Arteta now possessing so many great defenders, Jakub Kiwior left for Atletico Madrid in the January transfer window, with the Spanish side triggering their option to buy after a six-month loan.

At the end of the 2024/25 season, Football Manager 2024 put together an overall best Arsenal XI, based on performances, statistics, and other metrics. This is what it looked like:

Full Arsenal best XI: (4-3-3): Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Sambi Lokonga, Odegaard, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli.

Saliba and Gabriel was the defensive partnership of choice, with Calafiori missing out. Oleksandr Zinchenko had his best season for the club as he also made the best XI, while Albert Sambi Lokonga returned to the Gunners’ first team in the 2024/25 season, and the midfielder impressed enough to make the best XI.

With Calafiori the only arrival in the summer transfer window, Arsenal failed to improve on last season’s Premier League points tally, with Arteta’s side actually performing much worse in the simulation. Defensively, the Gunners were strong, but a lack of attacking threat proved costly.

21 wins, 11 draws, and six defeats saw Arsenal end the season with 74 points, 15 fewer than the previous campaign. What proved most concerning was the goals scored by Arteta’s side in the 2024/25 season, with Arsenal scoring just 55, the fifth-best in the league.

Despite their underwhelming Premier League campaign, the Gunners had something even better to cheer about as they won the Champions League in the simulation. After beating Real Madrid and Barcelona on their way to the final, Declan Rice scored the only goal of the game as Arteta’s side beat Liverpool 1-0 to lift the trophy.

There was no luck in the domestic cups, though, with Arsenal losing 1-0 to Everton in the Carabao Cup third round and 4-1 to Brighton and Hove Albion in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Overall, FM24 predicts that Calafiori may struggle at Arsenal, but the bigger issue was in attack, with a lack of goals showing that a new attacker could be needed next season.