Fabrizio Romano delivers the update Arsenal fans have been waiting for on key player

Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori and his injury that has seen him leave international duty early.

The former Bologna defender picked up an unfortunate knock in Italy’s win over France and there had been some worry about what it could mean for his availability for the Gunners.

However, taking to his official account on X, formerly Twitter, Romano has explained that his sources are insisting there’s nothing serious going on with Calafiori, and that this is more a case of Arsenal being cautious with his fitness after the initial knock he took in the France game…

????? Sources insist Riccardo Calafiori injury is not serious and it’s just a knock, nothing worrying.

Arsenal also didn’t want Calafiori to take any risk and he will be assessed at Cobham. pic.twitter.com/xnSnmN4MvN

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 8, 2024

Calafiori looks an exciting summer signing for Arsenal, even if we haven’t seen him on the pitch that much yet as he settles in at the Emirates Stadium.

The 22-year-old will surely have a great impact at Arsenal once he’s fully bedded in, though there remains a great deal of competition at left-back due to the presence of the likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney.

Jurrien Timber can also play left-back, and it will be precisely because of the awful luck the young Dutchman had this time last year that you could forgive Gooners for being a bit nervy about the Calafiori news.

Timber joined Arsenal from Ajax but barely got on the pitch for the north Londoners last season due to picking up such a serious injury on his Premier League debut.

Mikel Merino also joined AFC this summer and got injured in training straight away, delaying his debut by a few weeks, so fans will be hoping they can see their club avoid something similar with Calafiori, who looks like an outstanding talent and a perfect fit for Mikel Arteta’s style of football.

The Italy international showed his quality once again in that win over France, even if the night ended in disappointment for him personally.