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\n <\/div>\n FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from the Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea.<\/span>VAR spotting an offside Ezri Konsa denied Calafiori getting on the scoresheet against Chelsea, but the Italian did have a crucial role in Arsenal’s winning goal, scored by Martin Odegaard.<\/p>\n
In the build-up, Calafiori’s run inside of Christos Tzolis helped drag Pedro Neto into a back five – putting more Chelsea players behind the ball and rubberstamping Arsenal’s dominance on the game.<\/p>\n
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\n Image:<\/span>Calafiori (circled) helped push Chelsea’s Pedro Neto (also circled in blue) into the back five“He dictated the formation of Chelsea,” said Carragher, analysing the goal on Sky Sports. “Wherever Calafiori was, Neto was. When Calafiori drops forward, Neto drops into make a back five.<\/p>\n
“Chelsea were flittering between a back four in the main and a back five. It’s all about the positioning of Calafiori.”<\/p>\n
But that was not all. Calafiori kept going.<\/p>\n
His run into the penalty area then dragged centre-back Maxence Lacroix with him and created a 14.4-yard gap between the Chelsea defender and his partner Wesley Fofana.<\/p>\n
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\n Image:<\/span>Calafiori created a 14.4 yard gap between Chelsea’s centre-backs, allowing Odegaard to scoreThat was all the space Arsenal needed for Kai Havertz to dummy the ball to Odegaard, who finished with ease.<\/p>\n
But again, that’s not all. Because we’ve seen that exact same move from Arsenal before.<\/p>\n
Arsenal’s third goal in the Community Shield win over City had the same characteristics. A run and ball in from Tzolis, a dummy from Havertz – and Odegaard comfortably scoring.<\/p>\n
But crucially, it had the same underlapping run made by Calafiori – which created the same large centre-back gap between Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol.<\/p>\n
“You see the space between the centre-backs, that comes from Calafiori,” added Carragher. “This is the impact he’s having on games at left-back.”<\/p>\n
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\n Image:<\/span>Odegaard exploited a similar gap in the Man City defence to score vs ChelseaBut can his position really be described as ‘left-back’, given Calafiori is effectively operating as an extra attacker for this Arsenal team? The Italian has a habit of popping up everywhere, from centre forward to right wing.<\/p>\n
It was seen in the first half against Chelsea, when Calafiori ventured from the left to the right flank in the same attacking move – taking just eight seconds to pop up in a completely different role.<\/p>\n
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\n Image:<\/span>Calafiori starts a move in a more traditional left-back position\n
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\n Image:<\/span>Eight seconds later, Calafiori had ventured over to the right wing to collect a pass from Kai Havertz“That’s Ricci though!” said former Arsenal winger Leandro Trossard in November when asked by Sky Sports <\/em>about Calafiori’s wild positioning.<\/p>\n“He pops up everywhere – in the pockets, as a striker – that unpredictability can hurt teams.<\/p>\n
“I know what he can do and where he can pop up in what position. Sometimes I can play a ball blind to him and I know he will be there.”<\/p>\n
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\n Image:<\/span>Calafiori was seen in the No 10 position in between Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz against ChelseaIt seems, on the basis of the goals Odegaard scored against Man City and Chelsea, that Calafiori has a similar understanding building with new winger Tzolis.<\/p>\n
“I think Mikel and the staff saw this kind of thing inside of me,” Calafiori said ahead of playing Napoli on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
“Every season I’m trying to improve these moments on the pitch. Where to go and also the timing to go in those positions.<\/p>\n
“I think it’s a process that involves the whole team. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to find myself in those positions.”<\/p>\n
It is not just Calafiori who does this, as Ben White is also tasked with taking rogue positions in the Arsenal attack. He was also seen in a hybrid centre-forward role during the Chelsea game at times.<\/p>\n
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\n Image:<\/span>Ben White was also seen in the centre forward role against ChelseaWhile White tends to take the role of a more traditional full-back compared to Calafiori’s maverick positioning, his tactical flexibility is summed up by the fact that he ranks top of overlapping runs in the Premier League this season, and fourth for underlapping runs.<\/p>\n
“Playing full-back the way he [Mikel Arteta] wants is, I think, completely different to any other manager,” White told Sky Sports <\/em>in the 2023-24 season.<\/p>\n“To play full-back for him, you’ve got to be a centre mid, a centre-back, a winger and a No 10.”<\/p>\n
When fully fit, Arsenal are a well-oiled machine that are a nightmare to prepare for tactically. “They push you to the limits,” said Xabi Alonso after his Chelsea team came away from the Emirates with a 2-1 defeat.<\/p>\n
Every player has to be accounted for in defending. No player can be left unmarked or unwatched for long. Calafiori is the epitome of why Arsenal are so difficult to play against.<\/p>\n
It shows why so many teams revert to a low block against Arsenal. There are so many attackers to play against. And if you try to take Arsenal on – thereby opening yourselves up in defence – you get what Chelsea got.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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