Arsenal Defender Riccardo Calafiori Says He’s ‘Embarrassed’ By His Goal Celebration vs Manchester City

Arsenal and Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori has revealed that he’s ’embarrassed’ by the goal celebration that followed his stunner in the 2-2 draw against Manchester City last month.

After being eased into life at Arsenal by Mikel Arteta at the start of the season, Riccardo Calafiori has quickly become a regular starter at the Emirates, making a strong impression on the left side of the North Londoners’ defence.

The Italian made a couple of substitute appearances towards the end of August before being thrown in the deep end to make his full competitive debut against title-rivals Manchester City last month.

Calafiori starred against the likes of Savinho, Bernardo Silva and Kyle Walker, and even netted the opener for the Gunners in stunning fashion, however the Cityzens fought back to claim a point after playing out a 2-2 draw.

Following his goal, Calfiori made a beeline towards his manager in pure jubilation and pointed at what looked to be a member of the crowd, but the 22-year-old has since confirmed that he has no idea who he was pointing towards and joked that he’s ’embarrassed’ when he watches the celebration back.

Riccardo Calafiori Says He’s ‘Embarrassed’ By Man City Goal Celebration

Reflecting on his full debut, Calafiori told BBC Football Focus: “You couldn’t play a more difficult game than this (vs. Manchester City).

“When he [Gabriel Martinelli] played the ball to me, I just say now I want to shoot in the ‘top bins’, you call it like this? Or in the corner.

“I don’t know, it was not myself who ran to Mikel, it was another person, I don’t know. I kept doing this [pointing], but I don’t know to who, I swear, I was like blank.

“Yeah, I’m embarrassed. What have I done? What have I done?”

Roman Kemp trying to get Calafiori to explain his celebration vs City and he just has no idea 😭 pic.twitter.com/86uWfHEvDd

— Dan Critchlow (@afcDW) October 17, 2024

Calafiori Learnt English Thanks To ‘Netflix and UK Drill’

The ex-Bologna, Roma and Basel defender, who moved to England from his native Italy in the summer, revealed that he learnt and improved his English by watching Netflix and listening to UK drill music.

“[I’ve been learning English] since I was a kid. I started maybe with Netflix and with the lyrics of songs -UK drill! I’m still learning, I want to have lessons, I want to improve a bit.”

He continued, stating that English food had exceeded his expectations: “I expected worse, to be honest. It’s not so bad.

“Fish and chips – it’s not so bad – once per month you can eat this. I want to feel the whole experience, you know. I can become an English person.”

Netflix and c̶h̶i̶l̶l̶ drill 😅

Riccardo Calafiori is settling into life in England!#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/DRvoVbPn3d

— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) October 17, 2024

Calafiori Names Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry Among Idols

Asked about his idols growing up, it comes as little surprise to hear a self-proclaimed Roma fan name Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi among his inspirations, but Calafiori also listed two former Premier League stars.

“I have to say, of course, Totti and De Rossi, and then Mirko Vucinic, who was a striker for AS Roma. Cristiano Ronaldo, and a bit earlier Thierry Henry was, I think, one of the best.”

The Gunners return to Premier League action after returning from October’s international window, in which Calafiori featured twice for Italy, on Saturday as they head down to the south coast to take on Bournemouth.