Calafiori dubbed Italy ‘leader’ despite lack of Premier League minutes with Arsenal | OneFootball

Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori was dubbed a ‘leader’ of the national team by the press following Friday’s impressive 3-1 victory away in France, despite playing less than an hour of competitive action since he joined Arsenal this summer.

Calafiori praised for Italy leadership against France

Calafiori lined up in a back three alongside Inter’s Alessandro Bastoni and Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo at the Parc des Princes. Though he came off with a minor knock to his heel in the second half, the 23-year-old put on an impressive display before that.

He played so well that La Gazzetta dello Sport handed him an 8/10 rounding and the man of the match award.

“He hasn’t even played an hour for Arsenal yet, but he plays like a leader here. At the back, creating play, in a two or in a three, he’s the first to show courage in the tough moments,” The pink paper wrote about his performance.

It was a tough call for the man of the match award on Friday night, and several outlets in Italy could not agree on one particular individual. Some papers went with Samuele Ricci, others with Federico Dimarco and a few with Sandro Tonali and Giacomo Raspadori.

Calafiori, though, showed that he has the quality not only to lead Italy, but also to keep an excellent option in Alessandro Buongiorno restricted to the bench for the time being.