Arsenal
Arteta’s personal touch: the family pictures that won Calafiori to Arsenal
Arteta won Calafiori with family photos, not stats, and his role has reshaped Arsenal’s attack. 2026
Mikel Arteta did not rely solely on tactics or numbers when persuading Riccardo Calafiori to join Arsenal in the summer of 2024. Instead, the decisive moment came when Arteta showed the player photographs of his family.
“The first time that I was in contact with Arsenal I think it was right before the Euros,” Calafiori recalls, thinking back to the summer of 2024. At that point the defender had forced his way into Luciano Spalletti’s Italy squad after an influential season for Bologna.
“I think throughout the season I never wanted to to hear any rumours about my next season because I wanted to be focused with my team, with the national team,” he adds. Calafiori says Arteta combined detailed analysis with an unexpectedly personal approach. “At first he [Arteta] just wanted to meet me and explain [to] me how eventually the project [would look] with me. He showed me so many things, so many details, so many statistics and they show me even images of my family actually.”
The image of a manager taking time to ask about family matters stayed with Calafiori. “That was a part that I really won’t forget about. Since I was a kid, obviously [I was] really close with my mom as an Italian kid [and with] my dad and my sister as well. And he just asked me what my family represent for me, you know, [showed] some images of my sister or my mom or my dad.”
Other clubs were linked to the left back, but Arteta’s blend of detail and care convinced him. “I can describe his mentality like he doesn’t care if it’s the first day of preseason or minus one [one day before] the Champions League final, he will train us in the same way,” the Italian grins. “He really wants you to train as if you’re playing a game.” He also praised Arteta’s constant focus: “I see how much he cares about me, how much he’s focused, how much he wants me to improve.”
Calafiori’s path included youth years at Roma, a loan to Genoa and moves to Basel and Bologna before Arsenal: Dec. 15, 2020 signs five-year deal with Roma; Jan. 14, 2022 joins Genoa on loan; Aug. 31, 2022 sold by Roma to Basel; Aug. 31, 2023 sold by Basel to Bologna; July 29, 2024 sold by Bologna to Arsenal. Bologna’s Champions League qualification elevated him to a national team regular and drew praise from senior figures. “Riccardo is different from the other defenders,” Bonucci gushed.
Arteta has seen the on-field payoff. “Richy has been instrumental, especially in the way that we attack,” Arteta beamed after Calafiori returned from a month-long injury layoff. “He has unique qualities to occupy spaces and to create things that, probably, the qualities of the other fullbacks are different.” In his absence Arsenal recorded two 0–0 draws with Liverpool and Nottingham Forest and a 3–2 home defeat to Manchester United, with stand-ins unable to replicate his forward impact.
Arsenal
Midwinter Market: Big-money valuations and loan manoeuvres dominate the rumour mill
Transfers: Leão to Arsenal; Bellingham priced; Pepi medical booked; loan interest grows. Many clubs.
The transfer chatter remains dominated by high fees and pragmatic loan options as clubs across Europe prepare for significant summer moves. Arsenal have been linked with AC Milan forward Rafael Leão, a target reported to command $92.3 million (£69.1 million, €80 million) as the Gunners weigh reinforcement options amid speculation over Gabriel Martinelli.
Manchester United’s interest in Joshua Zirkzee has cooled as the striker plots a return to Serie A. His likely Italian suitors, including Juventus, Milan and Napoli, are reportedly only interested in a loan deal.
Manchester City have pursued Barcelona center back Pau Cubarsí with what has been described as an “obsession.” City are understood to have proposed a swap involving Omar Marmoush as a potential makeweight in the negotiations.
Arsenal are also the centre of a different story, with Crystal Palace, Everton and West Ham United all exploring a loan move for Arsenal’s “frustrated” left back Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Chelsea are active on several fronts. They have submitted offers for Borussia Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy, while also being linked to Inter target Alessandro Bastoni. Inter rejected an initial Barcelona approach of up to $75 million (€65 million) and are reported to be asking closer to $92.3 million. Guirassy has been floated as a replacement option and could be available for $69.2 million (€60 million), with Chelsea and Inter among those said to have made offers.
Chelsea are also said to be close to signing Valentín Barco from Strasbourg, a move described as at an “advanced stage.” Meanwhile, Aston Villa are demanding a club-record fee in excess of $133.5 million (£100 million) for Morgan Rogers amid Chelsea interest.
On the wider market, Real Madrid are willing to listen to offers for Jude Bellingham, who has been valued at $173 million (£129.6 million, €150 million) and is attracting reported interest from Manchester United and Chelsea. Borussia Dortmund remain confident they can secure a permanent return for Jadon Sancho once his contract at Manchester United expires, with the club “confident” of a deal. Fulham have lined up a medical for Ricardo Pepi in a deal set to be worth $38 million (£28.5 million), and Newcastle United have scouted Lens goalkeeper Robin Risser, valued at $46.1 million (£34.6 million, €40 million).
Arsenal
Henry Urges Caution After Max Dowman’s Record Goal
Thierry Henry: protect Max Dowman after record goal. Rooney’s rise and Vaughan’s decline warning. NB
Thierry Henry has urged restraint from supporters after Max Dowman’s record goal, saying the teenager must be handled carefully if his potential is to be realised. Henry made his comments on Sky Sports Monday Night Football following the moment that prompted widespread reaction.
“I had goosebumps, I’ll be honest with you,” Henry said. “I don’t often get goosebumps watching a game, but I had goosebumps because I remember my first goal, my first moment. Even if you are not an Arsenal fan, at the particular moment I think everyone could relate and was happy for him and put the Arsenal thing on the side.”
The programme also revisited the context of the Premier League youngest goalscorer mark. Wayne Rooney was a previous holder of the Premier League’s youngest goalscorer crown, having scored a stunner against Arsenal in 2002. This week, the retired legend revealed that his weekly salary at the time was just $100 because he was too young to even sign a professional contract. Rooney later went on to become one of the greatest players in English soccer history, winning numerous trophies, captaining Manchester United, the England national and breaking decades-old goalscoring records for both.
Henry used those contrasting career trajectories to make a plea for perspective. He pointed to examples of players who fulfilled early promise and those whose careers were curtailed by circumstance. One such case was Vaughan, who came from the same Everton academy as others mentioned on the show; Vaughan made only 52 Premier League appearances in a career limited by injuries and finished in League Two in 2021. The best season of his career was a 24-goal campaign for Bury in League One in 2016–17.
If Dowman is to follow in Rooney’s footsteps and realise the superstar potential that has been apparent for years now, Henry challenged fans to be patient and protect the teenager at this early stage of his career.
Arsenal
Money Talks: CIES Ranks the World’s Most Valuable Squads
CIES values nine squads over $1bn; Real Madrid leads at $1.78bn while Tottenham exceed $1bn. Values.
The surge in transfer prices and squad valuations has reshaped how clubs are measured. The CIES Football Observatory produces those estimates by weighing a player’s quality, age, position and length of contract, and those individual valuations are then summed to give each squad a market value.
The scale is striking. There are nine clubs with squads valued above $1 billion. At the top is Real Madrid with a squad valuation of $1.78 billion and Kylian Mbappé listed as the most valuable player at $221 million. Barcelona follow with $1.60 billion, Lamine Yamal accounting for $403.9 million of that total. Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain each sit at $1.55 billion, with Bukayo Saka ($131.5 million) and Désiré Doué ($150.3 million) named as their most valuable players respectively.
Liverpool’s roster is valued at $1.20 billion, most valuable player Florian Wirtz ($149.8 million). Bayern Munich come in at $1.15 billion with Michael Olise ($162.6 million) as their top-rated asset. Tottenham’s squad is valued at $1.03 billion; Xavi Simons is listed as their most valuable player ($98.1 million), despite the club’s current relegation fight and Igor Tudor’s assessment that players “are lacking when we attack, we lack the quality to score the goal. We are lacking in the middle to run and we are lacking behind to stay there to suffer and not concede the goal.”
The list also includes Manchester United ($953 million, Benjamin Šeško $100.3 million) and Inter ($942 million, Lautaro Martínez $117 million). Earlier-positioned squads under $1 billion include Atlético Madrid ($903 million, Julián Álvarez $136.5 million), Juventus ($896 million, Kenan Yıldız $152.5 million) and Brighton ($894 million, Diego Gómez $86.4 million).
Several voices in the game have reflected on the market changes. Karl-Heinz Rumminegge said, “There are some players who do not come with a price tag.” Robert Lewandowski complained, “You are young, you score 10 goals in six months and some club will pay 60 or 70 million,” adding, “Before, you had to achieve something.” Vincent Kompany warned players about hype: “I always tell my players, ‘When there’s hype please don’t believe it, you’re not that good.’”
Whether the valuations mirror on-field quality or the inflation of a transfer market remains the central question CIES data brings into focus.
