Arsenal remain top of the Premier League for another week.
In a less than thrilling game on Saturday night, Mikel Arteta’s side won 1-0 against Fulham at Craven Cottage. Gabriel flicked on from a corner and the thigh of Leandro Trossard crossed the line.
Cue a familiar tune. One more set piece, Ole Ore!
This means the Gunners have now won five games on spin in all competitions, but it is also the second successive Premier League game in which their opponents failed to register a single shot on target. This is the first time Arsenal have achieved this since the 2003-04 Invincibles season against Birmingham and coincidentally against Fulham.
Man-of-the-match Bukayo Saka and match-winner Trossard will grab the headlines, but another of Arteta’s most trusted pupils – more on him later – also underlined his importance to the west London side.
Arsenal star man vs Fulham
The biggest dilemma in team selection against Arteta on Saturday was who to play on the left wing, as Ebelesi Eze was deployed centrally to fill Martin Odegaard’s void.
Both options hit home during the international break. Trossard scored for Belgium in Cardiff and Martinelli scored for Brazil in Tokyo, but Arteta will no doubt feel vindicated in his decision.
Trossard, who scored as a substitute against Athletic Club and Port Vale last month, has started each of the last five games in the Premier League and Champions League, and his first league goal of the season, which he crossed the line at the weekend, will prove just how important it is.
However, this is nothing new, with the Belgian scoring 31 goals and providing 25 assists for the Gunners, contributing to a goal every 130 minutes on average.
In fact, only Saka (42) has scored more goals for Arsenal than Trossard since his debut in January 2023, just ahead of Kai Havertz and Martinelli’s 29 goals.
So, while Trossard rightly gets all the plaudits, which Arsenal player deserves to be in the spotlight for his eye-catching performance at Craven Cottage?
Mikel Arteta’s new favorite chaos merchant
The introduction of Miles Lewis-Skelly was one of last season’s key storylines.
In just five months, the teenager went from playing in front of 2,400 spectators to lift the EFL trophy to starting in the Champions League quarter-finals and semi-finals against Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.
However, it bears repeating that the England international has yet to start a Premier League game this season, and that is through no fault of his own, but purely because Arteta is hooked on what Riccardo Calafioli has to offer.
The Italy international played just 1,497 minutes and started just 16 games in all competitions in his first season in North London, but has started all eight Premier League games so far this season and has remained injury-free so far.
His performance against Fulham on Saturday night was Calafioli at his chaotic best.
Calafioli vs Fulham | ||
|---|---|---|
statistics | Calafioli | match rank |
expected number of goals | 0.04 | 9th place |
shot goes off target | 1 | 3rd place |
defensive action | 5 | 6th place |
clearance | 4 | 4th place |
exact path | 27 | 9th place |
Pass completion rate | 87% | 9th place* |
a duel was held | 9 | 6th place |
An aerial duel took place | 5 | 4th place |
touch | 50 | 9th place |
average rating | 6.8 | 11th |
*At least 16 passes completed. | ||
Statistics by SofaScore | ||
As outlined in the table, Calafioli’s statistics are not outstanding in any particular metric, but he ranks high in a variety of numbers, highlighting his contributions across the pitch.
The £42m Italian appeared to have broken the deadlock early in the first half, but his powerful volley was disallowed for offside. Journalist Charles Watts states that this goal may be one of the best canceled goals in modern Arsenal history.
If you think about it, Pepe vs. Chelsea, Leicester vs. Trossard and Bournemouth vs. Gabriel in the FA Cup final are other likely candidates.
Returning to Calafioli, he continues to impress, with Arceblog’s Andrew Mangan praising him as “very solid defensively again” and, paradoxically, CBS’ James Benge declaring him “the most exciting man in sports entertainment.”
To back this up, the left-back has surprisingly attempted 16 shots in the Premier League this season and, of course, scored on the first day at Old Trafford, which is the second most of any Arsenal player after centre-forward Victor Goqueres.
That’s why he’s definitely as important as Starman Saka these days.
In fact, the fact that this defender combines good defensive presence with being a chaotic on-ball contributor, something often lacking in this Arsenal team, is absolutely invaluable, especially when faced with low blocks.
On Saturday, Arteta’s side achieved their eighth clean sheet this season in just 11 games in all competitions, an incredible figure that would not have been possible if one of the back four had played a role in defence.
William Saliba and Gabriel have deservedly received a lot of praise, and Julian Timber’s exceptional performance this season has also received a lot of plaudits, but Calafioli’s contribution should not be overlooked, as he offers so much to this team literally all over the pitch.