Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori started for Italy against France in the Nations League on Friday night.
The Azzurri hadn’t won a game against Les Bleus in Paris for 70 years, but that long wait finally came to an end at the Parc des Princes.
Bradley Barcola gave France the lead after just 13 seconds, but Italy fought back and picked up a deserved 3-1 win in the end.
Calafiori started on the left side of a back three, and the Arsenal defender had a fantastic game. However, he suffered an injury in the second half.
Italy manager Luciano Spalletti shares update on Arsenal star Riccardo Calafiori’s injury
Arsenal signed Calafiori for an initial £34 million from Serie A side Bologna in the summer.
The Italy international hasn’t started a game for the Gunners yet, but he was given the nod by Azzurri boss Luciano Spalletti against France on Friday night.
Calafiori was by far Italy’s best defender, and he showed exactly why Mikel Arteta spent the big bucks to sign him back in July.
However, Arsenal fans were really concerned to see Calafiori suffer a freak injury.
Ousmane Dembele inadvertently caught the Italian’s calf after being tackled, and Calafiori appeared to be in serious pain.
The Arsenal man carried on for a few more minutes, but then went down and had to be substituted.
Calafiori limping off the pitch looked really worrying for everyone associated with Arsenal ahead of their North London Derby clash against Tottenham Hotspur after the international break.
However, thankfully, it’s nothing serious.
Fabrizio Romano revealed on X that Italy’s medical team think Calafiori’s issue is only minor, and their manager, Spalletti, has confirmed that there’s a good chance he will be back for the Azzurri’s game against Israel on Monday.
He said: “We need to assess Riccardo but with our staff, we’ve a good chance to have him back with us for the next game.”
Calafiori’s stats vs France will blow you away
While he was on the pitch, Calafiori was one of Italy’s best players.
The Arsenal defender had 75 touches of the ball and successfully completed 63 of his 67 attempted passes, thus maintaining a stunning 94 per cent passing accuracy.
He also made four clearances, a tackle and an interception, and wasn’t dribbled past once in the entire game, which is really impressive (Sofascore).
It’s a shame that Calafiori had to limp off against France, but his performance was really promising and we can’t wait to see him deliver in an Arsenal shirt in the coming months.
If he’s fit, we expect Calafiori to start at left-back against Tottenham.
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