Calafiori hopes to master more playing positions

Arsenal defender Calafiori recently shared in an interview how different coaches have shaped and changed him, and expressed his hope to continue learning and mastering different playing positions, including midfield.

Calafiori from Italy joined the Premier League giants Arsenal in July last year and signed a long-term contract. So far in the 2024/25 Premier League season, Calafiori has contributed two goals and one assist for Arsenal, and one goal and one assist in the UEFA Champions League, and his performance is eye-catching.

The 22-year-old Italian defender Calafiori said, "Thiago Motta, Spalletti and Arteta have changed me in all aspects, including my vision, the space I occupy, everything is different. Maybe there are many defenders with similar characteristics to me, or even better than me, but I have invested a lot of energy off the court, which may be the decisive factor."

“I still have a lot to learn and I hope to master as many positions as possible. At the moment I play in both positions but I have always been interested in midfield and would love to learn how to play there.”

In addition, Calafiori, who came from the Roma youth training, played for the Roma first team for several seasons, but did not get many opportunities. He then played for Genoa, Basel and Bologna.

Speaking of past experiences, Calafiori shared, “I was indeed disappointed at the time, but now I have no resentment towards Rome. It is not easy for a team to predict the career development of a young player. If there are already many players in the same position in the team, they have to make trade-offs.”

"They didn't choose to believe in me, but that's OK, I won't hold a grudge against them. Roma is still a very important part of my life and career, and I have only positive memories of this team."

It is worth mentioning that Calafiori was included in Italy's final squad for the 2024 European Cup, but he scored an own goal in the group match against Spain. However, in Italy's match against Croatia, Calafiori assisted Zacani to score.

“That’s the game I cherish the most and will never forget because I was able to quickly adjust after the own goal. I feel like I played better after that than I did before,” Calafiori said. “That game was like the culmination of this journey. If I had changed to that game seven or eight months ago, I would definitely not have been able to react like that.”