Before the second leg of their round of 16 matchup, Arsenal made a big impression in the Champions League on Tuesday night by crushing PSV Eindhoven 7-1 to build a commanding lead over their Dutch rivals. The Gunners put up a tremendous display, with several players shining throughout.
Ethan Nwaneri, Mikel Merino, and Martin Odegaard were among the players that made an impression; the latter became one of the youngest goal scorers in Champions League history. However, they were not the only ones to draw in fans, and following Riccardo Calafiori’s performance, Arsenal supporters are calling for the defender to be given more chances up front.
Calafiori’s Performance Against PSV
He came off the bench and shone
Calafiori started the Champions League match on the bench, but his number was called sooner than anticipated, and he took Myles Lewis-Skelly’s position in the first half. He also took full advantage of his chance, torturing PSV all game long. Even though he was a defender, he was quite good offensively against the Dutch team.
In the end, the Italian had nine forward passes, a goal, an assist, a vital pass, and an 8.3 SofaScore rating. He showed how effective he could be in the last third of the pitch with this outstanding performance. Calafiori’s performance suggests he might be the right man for the job, especially given the Gunners’ recent problems up front with injuries to important players like Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, and Bukayo Saka.
The Gunners supporters believe he’s up to the task as well.
Arsenal Fans Want Calafiori Up Front
They’re encouraged by his performance
What they seen from their Italian full-back gave Arsenal supporters great hope, and many have rushed to social media to criticise his play and demand that he play forward more frequently. “Calafiori needs a crack at left 8/up front I’m not even joking here,” a supporter posted on X (Twitter). Another fan agreed, writing on social media, “Lowkey why don’t we play him striker.”
Calafiori’s goal to end the game was the cherry on top of an already excellent performance, and it had fans raving on the internet. One said: “Arteta will sometimes start Calafiori up front against Nottingham Forest because of this. That’s the goal of a fantastic striker. The weight of the finish, the timing of the run. One person wrote, “Sorry, Calafiori CF needs to happen,” while another said, “Wild player.” That was a weak foot finish and a proper run.
Lastly, another fan posted, “Calafiori’s more dangerous than Sterling in the final 3rd lol what a finish,” comparing the star favourably to one of Arsenal’s real attackers and asserting that he would perform better. Arteta, it might be time to give him a true up-front opportunity after he showed promise in a more forward role against Nottingham Forest as well.
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