Italian sports papers hail ‘absolute protagonist’ Riccardo Calafiori as the Italy international scored against Manchester City in his full Arsenal debut.
Calafiori scored in his first game as a starter at Arsenal on Sunday, contributing to a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium against Premier League rivals Manchester City.
“He was great. To have the first Premier League game in this context, chapeau,” Arsenal coach Arteta said after the final whistle, as quoted by Football London.
“He’s got so much personality, so much energy. The quality that he has shown today really impressed us.”
On Monday, Italian sports papers understandably praised Calafiori, rated 6.5/10 by La Gazzetta dello Sport and 7/10 by Corriere dello Sport and Tuttosport.
The Turin-based paper wrote that the ex-Bologna star is ‘already an absolute Premier League protagonist.’
‘What a debut, City tremble’, wrote La Gazzetta dello Sport on page 40.
Calafiori joined Arsenal from Bologna in a €50m deal last summer. He has made four Arsenal appearances, but he had never started for the Gunners before yesterday’s away game at Manchester City.
A product of the Roma Academy, Calafiori has six Italy national team appearances to his name and made his international debut just one week before the start of the Euros last summer.
The 22-year-old has signed a contract until June 2029 at the Emirates Stadium.
