Ian Wright hailed Arsenal summer signing Riccardo Calafiori for taking the Gunners to ‘another level’ after he impressed in the Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain.
Arsenal made a statement of intent to their European rivals on Tuesday night with an impressive and relatively stress-free 2-0 win over French champions PSG.
Kai Havertz opened the scoring with a 20th-minute header before Bukayo Saka’s free-kick put the hosts in control before half-time.
Arsenal’s strong defence kept the visitors at bay after the break as Mikel Arteta’s side picked up their first Champions League win following last week’s opening draw at Atalanta.
Wright was impressed with Arsenal’s performance at the Emirates Stadium and singled out summer addition Calafiori for praise after the match.
The Arsenal legend admits he has been surprised by the level of Calafiori’s performances since he completed a £42m move from Serie A side Bologna over the summer.
Wright also said Calafiori had taken Arsenal to ‘another level’ and given Gabriel Martinelli a new lease of life on the left-hand side.
‘He is very good,’ he said on the Wrighty’s House podcast when asked about Calafiori, who featured for Italy at Euro 2024.
‘I always thought our left-hand side wasn’t properly activated. Even when we tried with [Oleksandr] Zinchenko or [Jakub] Kiwior, it hasn’t really worked.
‘Even playing [Jurrien] Timber there hasn’t worked. With Calafiori, the way he activates Martinelli… he’s a whole different kettle of fish now.
‘Martinelli knows he can go because Calafiori is back there. When Zinchenko came to Arsenal we saw a massive difference in terms of progressing the ball and controlling the game.
‘But now it seems like it’s ramped up to another level with what Calafiori is capable of doing. I didn’t know he had this much in his armoury.
‘We hear a lot about players not adapting to the league or the team but he is plug and play, he’s got it instantly. There’s no way we thought we were getting this much of a player, no way.’
Arsenal boss Arteta, meanwhile, insisted he was ‘really, really happy’ with his team’s performance against PSG and singled out Havertz for praise.
‘Really, really happy with the performance,’ he told Amazon Prime. ‘We played an opponent that has a lot of personality, is really difficult to deal with when you don’t have the ball.
‘The first half was very dominant and we created a lot of chances and then the second half was a different story.
‘We suffered much more than we should have done. The Champions League brings different demands but I think we handled it really well.’
On Havertz, Arteta added: ‘He has been unbelievable. His football brain, the way he understands space, his timing, he brings people together.
‘Hs work ethic is incredible and now he is a real threat around the box. He is one of our main players at the moment.’
Arsenal return to Premier League action on Saturday against winless Southampton. The Gunners are currently third, one point behind leaders Liverpool, as they look to win the title for the first time since 2004.
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