Arsenal reveal Riccardo Calafiori shirt number to honour new signing's request | OneFootball

Italian defender will wear the No33 jersey in north London

Arsenal have announced the signing of Riccardo Calafiori with the No33 shirt handed to the Italian centre-back.

The Gunners landed Calafiori in a deal worth up to £42million from Bologna to reinforce Mikel Arteta’s defence in their second major signing of the summer, following loanee David Raya’s permanent move from Brentford.

Monday’s unveiling saw Arsenal confirm the new arrival’s squad number with what initially appeared to be an unusual pick for the Premier League team.

The last players to wear the No33 were almost all goalkeepers such as Mat Ryan, Matt Macey, Petr Cech and most recently Arthur Okonkwo. Nicklas Bendtner is another of the small sample size of this shirt’s custodians.

But Calafiori made a personal request to take the shirt having worn it at Bologna and Basel over the last two seasons.

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Arsenal will hope to include the defender in their upcoming friendlies against Liverpool, Bayer Leverkusen and Lyon before their season begins against Wolves on August 17.

Sporting director Edu said: “It has been a great team effort in completing this transfer and we welcome Riccardo to the family.

“We identified Riccardo as part of our strategy to sign players who fit our profile and will reinforce our squad to compete at the highest level. He is 22 but brings quality and experience. He will quickly grow into being an Arsenal player.

“Riccardo has consistently shown his quality for his club and country. He was one of the best players in Serie A last season, and gave strong performances for Italy in the Euros this summer. Mikel and our coaches are excited to start working with Riccardo, and we all look forward to seeing him in our shirt.”

Arsenal are yet to confirm their full squad number list for the 2024-25 season, with the top remaining spots including the No13, No16 and No17 while the No10 will soon be vacated when Emile Smith Rowe seals his transfer to Fulham.