Ian Wright claims one Arsenal star has taken the Gunners ‘to another level’ this season
Arsenal legend Ian Wright insists new signing Riccardo Calafiori has taken the Gunners “to another level” this season by “activating” Gabriel Martinelli.
Mikel Arteta’s side produced an emphatic first-half performance to beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday night with their goals coming from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka.
It was an impressive display from Arsenal and the Gunners also produced a solid second-half display to keep PSG at bay and see out the game fairly comfortably.
Calafiori started only his fourth match of the season against PSG with the Italy international – who starred at the Euros over the summer – becoming a regular in recent weeks.
And Arsenal legend Wright reckons he has made a huge difference recently with the Italian helping to get the best out of Brazilian winger Martinelli.
Speaking on his own Wrighty’s House podcast, the Arsenal legend said: “He is very good.
“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.”
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Arsenal boss Arteta was “really happy” with their display against last season’s Champions League semi-finalists but thinks they “suffered” in the second half more than he would’ve liked.
Arteta told Amazon Prime: “Really, really happy with the performance. 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.
“His work ethic is incredible and now he is a real threat around the box. He is one of our main players at the moment.”
