Jorginho believes Arsenal gained a fantastic talent in their squad in Riccardo Calafiori, having played with him previously.
The two were a part of Italy’s Euro 2024 squad, which Riccardo just edged into after dominating with Bologna in Serie A the last season. He earned his first Azzurri caps in the friendlies prior to the tournament and eventually cemented a spot in the starting lineup.
Jorginho also stated that he was pleased by the 22-year-old’s skills and that he immediately messaged Riccardo to try to convince him that north London was the right place for him to be when he learnt that we were interested in getting him here.
Caliafori is a really good signing, says Jorginho
“It’s a really good signing,” he said.
“He’s a really good young player that will give a lot to the team. He’s a very professional guy, he is hungry to learn and humble. He has a lot to add and grow and learn and I think it’s going to be a good connection.”
“To be fair I didn’t know him that much but when I got to know him and see him up close, it’s been great. He has great qualities.”
“I sent him a few messages while we were there at the tournament and I spoke with him and said if he wants to take himself to the next level and grow, this is the right place for him to go.”
“It’s nice to have a fratello here! We always try to help each other here and that’s what we’re going to do with him as well to make sure he feels at home straight away. It’s great that he’s here, hopefully he enjoys it and we’ll achieve big things together.”
Although Jorginho is still looking to hit proper fitness levels, he is already looking forward to the new campaign, after playing just thirty minutes against Bournemouth and an hour against Manchester United.
He also benefitted from having more game time at Euro 2024 as he gets ready for his last tour match against Liverpool on Wednesday in Philadelphia.
“It’s always really great to go to a tournament with your country and have the opportunity to represent your people, but it’s also good as you don’t have a really long break,” he added.”
“It’s been a really good pre-season so far, we’ve been working really hard and I think it’s a really good opportunity for us to update and work a lot physically.”
“We’ve achieved some of the targets – and the main one is always trying to win and build this mentality of winning games. Of course there are things that we need to improve and keep working to get better and better but I think we are on the right path.”
