What can Arsenal expect from new signing Riccardo Calafiori?

3. Tenacity off the bench

This is something supporters have caught a glimpse of already, and hopeful there is more to come. Whenever Arsenal drop to ten men, or just fall under a relentless wave of pressure in the latter moments of the game, it has become a sort of tradition for Arteta to initiate defensive protocols and assemble a back five.

A similar thing happened against Brighton, and it was Calafiori who was brought on to shore up the backline. Perhaps an argument could be made that if he had been introduced moments earlier, it may have helped prevent the Seagulls from equalising.

Nonetheless, his tenacity and reliability in his cameo did ultimately help Arsenal keep their shape and shut the doors for a late Brighton winner too, so the plan was a success in that sense. Should a similar problem arise in future, it's well worth having an asset like Calafiori to solve it.

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