Earlier this week, The Athletic’s David Ornstein dropped a bomb regarding Kai Havertz, revealing that the German attacker picked up a hamstring injury during Arsenal training and is set to miss the remainder of the season. This news came as a major blow to manager Mikel Arteta and the entire squad as they are severely short on senior attacking players in the squad.
Havertz joins two other Gunners forwards with the same injury as the team has lost Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli to hamstring injuries in recent times. The former could be out until mid-March as he recovers from surgery, while the latter’s return date is not yet known. Meanwhile, Gabriel Jesus’ cruciate ligament injury is likely to keep him out of action until the latter months of this calendar year.
This leaves the Gunners with just Leandro Trossard, Ethan Nwaneri, Raheem Sterling and Nathan Butler-Oyedeji as their attacking options until the end of the season. As a result, Arteta may be forced to play defender Riccardo Calafiori up top. The Italian played as a number nine through youth levels and only moved down the pitch as he grew older.
Could Calafiori prove to be a good solution up front?
Riccardo Calafiori received worldwide acclaim for his fearless performances for Italy at Euro 2024, where many were presented with the opportunity to witness his ball-carrying skills. Usually starting from an LCB or an LB role, Calafiori marauded forward with the ball on multiple occasions and created chances.
🇮🇹 Riccardo Calafiori: “When I was a kid, I was a striker and I liked to score many goals” ⚽️
It’s time. pic.twitter.com/hMu4IKf0Qm
— Gooner Chris (@ArsenalN7) February 11, 2025
While this is normal for any full-back, the 22-year-old does it with a different composure and decisiveness that makes it amply clear he has some instincts needed to be a striker. Calafiori has played 149 club games in his career and scored 11 goals and provided 14 assists. A goal contribution every six games in the early stages of his career is a decent return for a player starting as a defender.
He has scored two goals for the Gunners so far – both incredibly important goals, and both wonderfully struck as well. His first came against Manchester City in a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium back in October. His second came in Arsenal’s narrow win at Wolves a few weeks back, with another stunning strike on the half-volley.
It remains to be seen whether Arteta actually deploys him up front.
