Often in the past we have seen defenders being deployed as emergency forwards late in games where their sides are desperate for goals m Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique at Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively played this role to considerable success. If fans and media have their way, Riccardo Calafiori could join this list very soon for Arsenal.
There have been shouts for the Italian to be deployed as a striker for the Gunners amidst their injury crisis in forward areas, after Calafioriโs impressive showing in attack against PSV in the Champions League.
Arsenal beat PSV 7-1 in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie, becoming the first team in the history of the competition to score 7 goals away from home in a knockout game. Calafiori scored one and assisted another in this rout.
This was his first goal in the UCL and his 3rd overall for the club. The former Bologna and Roma player spoke about it after the game to Sky Italia (via TMW) โAs I have always said and I repeat, I feel I can play in any role and obviously I would be ready to play it. Then, honestly, we should talk more about the technical and tactical aspects, it wouldnโt be easy because Iโve never done it in my life. Obviously if he (Mikel Arteta) asks me Iโll do it, but I donโt know if it could really be an alternative. Itโs one thing to already be there, as I always tell my teammates, and another thing to get there on the run, which is a totally different thing. And Iโm really good at thatโ.
As talk around Calafioriโs versatility grows, fans are turning to betting sites to capitalize on the situation, making their predictions on how Arsenalโs forward crisis will unfold and what kind of impact the defender-possibly-turned-striker could have on the team.
Kaulik Mitra | GIFN
