Arsenal set to complete defender signing

As Arsenal prepare for pre-season friendly games against Bournemouth and Manchester United on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively, they are also preparing for a medical for Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori as they near an agreement.

The Gunners wanted to have the defender for the pre-season tour of the US. The 22-year-old defender played 30 games for Bologna last season. 

He has been on a merry-go-round of sorts since graduating from the Roma academy, moving to Swiss side Basel in 2022. It was in the following season that Calafiori joined Bologna for around €3M.

The defender was then featured for the Italian national team at the Euros 2024, where the Nerrazzurri was disappointed after getting knocked out in the round of 16 by Switzerland.

Bologna secured a Champions League spot in the 2024/2025 season after finishing in fifth place last season where Calafiori scored two goals and five assists in 30 Serie A appearances.

Meanwhile, Bologna and Arsenal began exchanging documents on Wednesday, and the Italians also sorted Swiss side Basel. The defender is reported to be signing a five-year deal at around €4m/season. The medical will be completed in the US.

Arsenal play Bournemouth in Los Angeles on Wednesday evening in the US, while they play Manchester United on Saturday before a game against Liverpool on July 31 in Philadelphia.

Mikel Arteta led the Gunners through a second consecutive second-place finish in the Premier League title race last season and lost the title to Manchester City, which won a fourth consecutive league title.

Ukrainian defender Oleksandr Zinchenko advised his teammates to put the title loss behind them and focus on the new season.

“How much City pushed us in the last two years shows how demanding the league is and where the level is. In the beginning of the season, you can lose some games and drop some points and think you will be back. But these kinds of points, you can just miss in the last period of the season, then you try to bite your elbows, but the elbows are too far, and it is too late.” He said.