1 MAJOR concerning fact about Arsenal signing Riccardo Calafiori

It looks like Arsenal are on the verge of completing the signing of Ricardo Califori from Bologna. I know people, it seems like it's taking a lot of time and a lot of time to get this deal over the line. It seems like before too long people, or not before too long, barring any setbacks, he will be an Arsenal footballer. We just need to be patient. Now in relation to a tactical analysis or deep dive on Califori, I'd implore you all to check out the previous video I did. I kind of want to talk about Califori in a different light. One that, you know, I'm sure whether you're on WhatsApp or whatever, where you're talking with your friends and family, you know, some of these things are said with Califori and that was actually the inspiration or the brainchild of this video people. My aim of this video is simply to show the player in a different light. My aim of this video is simply to provide a balanced perspective of what we might be getting with a player who, as we know, is the modern day defender. He marries what you would, in my opinion, consider a conventional defender that loves defending. Very dramatic, I'm about to say this, but would rather die than concede a goal. With obviously the modern day, he's quite gracious and progressive with all of his passing. As I said, check out the tactical analysis video and we'll get on that in a minute people. Again, we hope that one day he could be mentioned in the same vein as the Cannavaros, the Barazis, the Bonucci's, the Chiellini's and the list goes on of Italian great defenders. And it's not just Arsenal fans. Bologna know about his exploits and you believe every Italian fan of football, you know, is keen to see this man develop. And when you look at it on the face of it, bar the obvious, I've got a lot of confidence in California developing well at Arsenal. Again, we don't know until he's kicked a ball, but he's got a great foundation being at Basel, Roma, Bologna. Obviously, he's 22 years of age. We all know he marries the old school with the new school. And when you look at Mikel Arteta, the track record is there of improving existing players within the team. And naturally, we've become the best defensive side in the Premier League, in my opinion, or one of the best defensive sides in Europe, individually, and most importantly, collectively. So it makes sense as to why, you know, we'd look to sign him and how he could improve people. There's a lot to like about California as we already know. He's got a willingness to learn as Bayer, just looking at how managers speak about him. He's versatile, able to play centre-half as well as at left-back and, you know, left-back we'll get on to. He's a committed defender. He seems like he's got a character and he stood up anytime there's been adversity on and off the field, people. But is there anything to potentially be concerned about or be wary about? I don't know. But as I said throughout this video, let me know your thoughts and I hope to provide a different perspective. You know, what is he actually, people? I mean, he can play as a centre-half or a left-back. However, statistically, based on the games played, he is a full-back by trade. He's played more career appearances at left-back than at centre-half. Now, again, we know you need to be versatile, but that's what the data is telling us. You know, when you look back towards his time, people, you know, he's obviously just reverted back to a centre-half in the stage, people. You know, California shunned his natural position based on his exploits at Basel and it saw him get that move back to Serie A, people. After being at Bologna for only a year for €4 million, it's fair to say they're going to make quite the profit. Left-footed, physically imposing, personality in his game and very authoritative, confident with a ball at his feet. He originally was a left-back before being repurposed under Thiago Mota at Bologna last season and we've all seen his rise and his stocks rise in the last 12 months, people. As we know, Roma, despite him being mixed reviews on California, his days at Roma, what led to an end was FFP. They had to sell him, people, in the summer of 2022 and their loss in short was Bologna's game, people, really and truly. Mota switched him from being a full-back to a centre-half and the player hasn't looked back. He's shown he can play in a back four, a back three. He's very adaptable, which is another tick on the California list. He's capable in the air, he's strong on the ground. He has very few weaknesses in his game but realistically, he's 22 years of age so there's got to be some people, you know, if I'm completely honest. I do think just by looking at him, he can be caught out of position at times naturally because he's a front-footed defender and he likes to gallop forward. I think that is one but of course, these kind of things will improve and be eradicated as he matures as a footballer. When you look at the centre of Arsenal's defence, it doesn't appear on the face that it's an obvious area of the Gunners squad that requires upgrading. You know, we saw what Gabriel and Saliba have done. Collectively, we've improved. You know, we've conceded just 29 goals in the game. That's just gone, people, in the season. Apologies. Which is five fewer than the next best defensive record, which obviously belonged to Manchester City. I can see what California provides, man. He potentially would give Arsenal another dimension in Mikel Arteta. He's not only centre-half ranks but obviously at full-back. He's got a great engine. He makes long, busted upfield runs and plays incisive passes, as you would have saw in the Croatia game, people. He's established himself as one of the creative and most dynamic defenders in Europe last season when it comes to his passing and his dribbling and that modern-day stuff. According to information online via FBref, I could never say that website, he ranks in the 99th percentile among centre-halves in Europe's top five major leagues for assists per 90. He's in the 97th percentile for shot-creating actions. He's in the 92nd percentile for successful take-ons and for progressive passes received. He is 88, people. Where you look at Arsenal's first choice, centre-halves at this moment, Saliba ranked the highest for completed take-ons and shot-creating actions and actually assists, really, which is information to me. And you look at Gabriel, he came out on top for progressive passes received. So it's not as though that California's forward-thinking ability masks his weakness in his game for the more traditional centre-halves, but you can see what he brings in. There's some statistics that he does better at, some that others do better at, so he'll make a lot. Obviously, if you're six foot two, you're definitely not four foot, but if you're six foot two and not formidable in the air, there's issues. On that, he ranks in the 65th percentile for aerial drills run, people, and has an impressive success rate at 71.4%. Now, again, in terms of the progressiveness and stuff, he's in the 90s. For the aerials, he's in the 60-odd. So, again, can't read too much into that. Obviously, the ball's on the floor a lot more than it is in the air, but could that be an area to improve? He also ranked 96th for interceptions per 90 and 74th for tackles, people. All of these are vastly higher than either Saliba's or Gabriel's, but again, that could be reflected on the sense of, in theory, Arsenal on the front foot a lot more in-game, so there is less defensive potential work. I don't have any doubt in California. More importantly, Edu, Mikel Arteta, and everybody connected to Arsenal, it doesn't seem like they have or they wouldn't have scouted him and beginning the process to signing him, people. And there's a lot of potential talking points. I do think we have to give the man time to adapt to the new league, to the way Mikel Arteta does things. We've got to remember, while he has played at a couple of teams now and actually in two countries, he's still a 22-year-old man. And I think when we look at what players could be tomorrow under this guise of potential, we do get carried away, in my opinion, which would not be advisable. When you think of California, I do think his injuries paint mixed success or a mixed picture, better yet. I do think there's a lot of exaggerated claims, but he does pick up injuries and has had his fair share of injury roles already. We all know about the devastating knee injury he had in 2018, which could have ended his career. Over the past two years, those have kind of been phased out. Now, I do think the injury claims are probably overstated. Again, in the last few years, he has picked up a lot of knocks and he has picked up a couple of hamstring knocks. Now, when you get a long-term injury like he suffered in 2018, it is known that you do pick up a lot of knocks, really. You look at last season, he actually didn't miss that many games. However, if you do look in the last two or three seasons, as you lot could potentially by now see on the screen, it does paint a mixed bag, if I'm honest with you, if I'm really honest. We know his quality, he's definitely worth the money. But when you look at in 2018-19, he missed 67 games, obviously, with the injury he had. 19-20, five games. The season after that, 23. The season after that, 17. The season after that, 14. And last season, he only missed two games due to injuries. But one does wonder, with the physical demands of the Premier League, is this something to worry about, people? I'm not too sure. Either way, he's come a long way from when he was 16 and he suffered that big injury. He's bounced back. He's had a couple of knocks and he's bounced back. So it's testament to his strong mentality, people. I mean, he's come back from rupturing all of his knee ligaments, as well as a meniscus tear. The very fact that he's walking, let alone playing football, is crazy. Prior to his comeback in the 2019-20 season, he missed 347 days, people. And then, obviously, after that, there were also fears that he actually retore his ACL while playing against Lazio in November of 2019, just a few months after the initial comeback. Now, thank God it wasn't that, people. And as I said, given the state, the nature and the status of knee injuries, people, he does remain susceptible to potential hamstring knocks, people. You look back in January of 2021, this is where he suffered a notable problem in the first half of the year. He was plagued in that season by hamstring rolls, people, which is obviously a madness. And in between January and May of that year, he missed 20 games. In November 2021, as I said, there was injury concerns. He missed 25 days, but only 13 games. I mean, that sounds terrible, doesn't it? Then you look in November of 2022, where he had a torn muscle fibre. He missed about a month for in that regard. So again, I guess injuries are something to potentially consider. I also would deviate away from that and kind of going back to a previous point I made about while he's got all the potential, he's got the great foundation and generally there's an air of excitement around players. I do think we have to keep our feet on the ground, you know, where you look at California, Saliba, Saka, Martin Odegaard, Martinelli, you know, and the list goes on. There's a lot of players with potential. They've only scratched the surface, but to get there, you need to learn. It's like riding a bike. To learn how to ride a bike and do wheelies and do all of that stuff, you have to fall on the floor and get some cuts. So that's the stage he's kind of at really and truly, you know. And again, one does wonder what this signing actually means. What does it mean for us as a collective team beyond the obvious? And what does it mean for Mikel Arteta? I do personally think fans are jumping the gun a bit, myself included, as to what exactly Arteta has planned for both California, Tommy Yasu, Benjamin White and Timba. I say these names because they can play in a bunch of roles as well as elsewhere people. And I do think now we've got the luxury to switch things up quite simply when we want to really. We've got different players for different game states and it's going to be quite good. I think you've also got to remember, while he plays and definitely looks a lot more mature way beyond his years, on paper he's 22 years of age. How many players are the finished product at 22 years of age? Unless your name's Lionel Messi, which is of course, it's amazing for what he could be, but we need to take our time. He's played 33 games for Bologna, 38 for Basel and 18 for Roma. That's around 89 games in total at senior club level, 43 in Serie A and 26 in the Swiss League. He's obviously got five Italian caps under his belt and he's a rising asset, but to become the finished article, once again, you have to go through those moments, people. He's played in back threes, back fours. He's more than capable of playing centre-half. However, once again, statistically, he's played the majority of his career at left-back. So on paper, he is a left-back and we all know that left-hand side of our pitch needs addressing. Martinelli needs to get back in form. We need another wide man. Trossart needs to continue his form. We need a long-term partner for Declan Rice in the middle. And because of the by-products of the injuries with Timba, Tomiasu, the inconsistencies with Zinchenko and Curiel, there's been no stability at left-back, which despite our title challenge last year, needs to be eradicated, people. In theory, I'm not even against the idea of a back three. This could be a video in a completely different concept, but I just feel we've got good competition now. We've got great players there, really. And these are the things we dreamed of. Can you remember when we had Marie, Mustafi, Sokratis and the list goes on? I don't want to trigger anyone's PTSD. California is excellent at initiating attacks. He's a very good passer. He's very good at marking. He's got a very strong personality, which you're not going to play for Italy if you can't. And obviously, at Arsenal, that's going to be required. On paper, and with what my eyes can see, he looks like the perfect player for the Mikel Arteta system. You know, California should feel at home very quickly at the Emirates, man. As I said, he does remind you of the golden age of Italian defenders, the Nestas, the Barreses, the Fabio Cannavaros, the Maldini's, the Zambrotti's, different positions, Benucci, Chiellini, different positions, but they all played in defence and they all were defensive monsters, people. And he plays with some seemingly effortless class and composure that I just feel he was born with. And again, character, resistance, keeping up the propaganda with statistics, people. He was 89th for defensive actions, 87th percentile for aerial draws, 82nd percentile for progressive runs, 82nd percentile also for forward passing. And no defender in Serie A had more interceptions than him, people, which shows that he's crazy. And he's one of the most promising, not only young defenders, but left-footed defenders in Europe. And Italy are only going to benefit, and obviously, Arsenal. In Serie A in the season that's just gone, no player had more possession-adjusted interceptions than California as well, people. He scored first for interceptions, assists, offensive draws. He was second for dribbles, progressive runs in the whole division versus other centre-backs. He was sixth. The same goes for shot assists, whatever that is, as well as shot passes, acceleration. He was seventh, key passes. He was seventh, aerial draws won. He was eighth, passing eighth, and tackled ninth. So there is a solid base. And to be fair, when you look at some of the comparables with Kivio, you can see that this is an upgrade on him and someone that can really cause problems to Gabriel, Timba, Tomiyasu, and all the defensive aspects we have, people. He's an upgrade. And what I would say is, it's one thing signing a good defender. Look at Man United last season. You've got great Los Angeles Martinez. You've got Varane, not the Real Madrid Varane, but the system. It's not just one defender. The system has to be putting an emphasis on defending. And I always say, not just Arsenal, but you look at everybody, David Reyes, our first attacker, it would be irrelevant what a goalie could do with his feet. Pickford, big up you for England, but I wish you could play out from the back. And our first defenders are currently Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard, as well as the two wide men. So it's a collective unit, people, if I'm honest with you. And there's a lot to like. But for me, in short, I can understand why people potentially be concerned about the injuries. I do think there's something to worry about. Generally, I don't think he's as good as we're making him out. And what I mean by that, he definitely is as good as we're making out. But I just feel when you hype players and there's fanfare, we think he could turn water to wine. We've got a young promising player, an upgrade on certain players, someone that makes us better, someone that could be the first choice left back and gives our Teta a wealth of options, someone that's got a good foundation in terms of his education and everything in the footballing game. And now it's about crafting it and perfecting it. So I do think in short, people, the injuries are overstated. I do think there's statistics around his aerial drills, his progressive passes and all of that stuff. He is a very good potential prospect, people. But I could understand why there could be concerns. But on that, let me know your thoughts. Don't forget to like, comment and subscribe. Hopefully the next California video I do is actually when we've signed the player. Again, for more in-depth tactical analysis on California, check out the video I did, people. But on that, let me know your thoughts. Like, comment, subscribe. God bless you all. Peace.