Timber decision, Jorginho role – Dream Arsenal lineup after £42m Riccardo Calafiori transfer – We’re surely winning the league title this season
On the brink of securing their second arrival of the summer, Arsenal look set to take the challenge back to Manchester City as the pair get ready to fight it out once more for the Premier League trophy in the upcoming 2024/25 season.
The Gunners have already secured the services of goalkeeper David Raya permanently following his spell at the Emirates Stadium on loan from Brentford last season, and their activity is set to ramp up over the next few weeks. Bologna defender Riccardo Calafiori is set to be the next name on the arrivals list in what should be a deal worth around £42.5million.
Having already agreed personal terms with the Italy international, Arsenal will look to make a swift move for the star but the Serie A side are in no rush to sell the defender who still has three more years on his current contract. Calafiori impressed with the national team at Euro 2024, having played every group game before being ruled out of their Round of 16 loss to Switzerland through suspension.
But now that the Azzurri are out, full focus will be put on the negotiations stage of his move to north London which appears to be stalling somewhat. Reports are suggesting that Arsenal are not matching the £42million asking price for the defender, meaning there’s still a wait on the move to go through, with complications also reportedly stemming from the sell-on clause that FC Basel have embedded in his Bologna deal.
Earlier in the window, Bologna technical director Giovanni Sartori highlighted his club’s desire to keep the star but admitted that it’s unlikely the star will be staying in Italy and may go to ‘a different market’. He said: “There is talk of Juventus but also of many other teams. At this moment we will try to keep him.
“If important requests were to arrive, we will have to think about it. I am not saying that we will sell him because the president has said that he wants to keep the whole team, but we will certainly make some evaluations. I do not think he will go to Juventus, maybe to a different market, but I repeat that we would like to try to keep him.”
If Calafiori does join, he’d shore up the defensive line a lot with the left-back area in particular being a weakness of the Gunners last season. Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior had to do a lot of the heavy lifting over the previous campaign after Jurrien Timber’s injury on his debut in the opening match of the 2023/24 campaign following his £34million move from Ajax, meaning Calafiori could simply slot into that position without much contest given Timber has had little time to cement his place in the starting XI.
When asked last week if they’d be making any more additions to the squad after Raya’s announcement, manager Mikel Arteta was quick to allay fan concerns around upgrades, promising that they were looking to splash out in each area of the pitch. He told ESPN: “We are looking to improve in every possible department.
“With the new regulations, there are certain things we have to respect and be conscious of and then obviously the Euros and Copa America are slowing everything down. Hopefully now it is going to pick up a little bit. I think both ways [players coming in and going out of the club]. There are things that we have to improve, that’s for sure and we are going to try to. But the market is tricky.
“We have been very aggressive, we are very determined and we have a clear idea obviously of what we want to do. It will come down to finding the right agreements at the right time.”
It means a similar looking back four to last year with Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba all retaining their places following all of them having major impacts on Arsenal’s title challenge while the addition of Calafiori shows a marked improvement both defensively and going forward.
While both Kiwior and Zinchenko have been touted for exits, the pair plus Takehiro Tomiyasu provide great depth and cover for all three defensive positions that the Gunners may want to end up keeping them all on. With Thomas Partey also on the cusp of an exit this summer, it’s likely that Jorginho slots into the midfield alongside Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard while the frontline looks much the same with Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli presently set to lead the line for the Gunners next season.
Dream Arsenal lineup after Calafiori signs: David Raya; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Riccardo Calafiori; Jorginho, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard; Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli.
