Arsenal thrashed Bayer Leverkusen 4-1 in the Emirates Cup in a superb display, but there were some notable absentees.
Despite having several left-backs in the Arsenal squad, Mikel Arteta found himself short of options in the position. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney have missed the entirety of pre-season, but even Arteta’s new options were unavailable.
Jurrien Timber picked up a minor problem after coming back from a long-term injury, which kept him out of the final friendly of the USA tour, whilst new signing Riccardo Calafiori was not even named on the bench, despite being at the Emirates Stadium.
Oleksandr Zinchenko started at left-back, and impressed as he opened the scoring, but fans were still desperate to see Calafiori.
Mikel Arteta has now revealed why Calafiori was nowhere to be seen as Arsenal returned to the Emirates Stadium.
Riccardo Calafiori of Arsenal during a training session at Sobha Realty Training Centre on August 05, 2024 in London Colney, England.
Mikel Arteta explains Riccardo Calafiori absence in Arsenal win
Speaking after the victory over Leverkusen, Arteta explained that he wants to ease Calafiori in carefully, and this game came too soon for him.
“So much has happened to him in one week. He has come in to a new environment, a completely different methodology, different training and we are managing him. We want to do it slowly, to get him in the best possible way,” Arteta stated.
Calafiori was absent from the squad in both friendlies since he signed, and Arsenal have just one more fixture planned before the Premier League season starts.
Riccardo Calafiori unlikely to start Premier League season
Arteta’s comments indicate that Calafiori is unlikely to start against Lyon in the final friendly on Sunday, and this will certainly mean that he does not come into the lineup for the opening game of the Premier League season.
Calafiori will be eased in slowly over the next few months, and after his strong performance against Leverkusen, Zinchenko is in contention to start the season.
If Timber returns from injury, Arteta will have another option at his disposal, and there will be no extra reliance or pressure placed on Calafiori as he adapts to his new club.
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