"I didn't know he had this much in his armoury" – Ian Wright waxes lyrical about 22-year-old star who has taken Arsenal 'to another level'

Arsenal legend Ian Wright has showered huge praise on summer signing Riccardo Calafiori following the defender's performance in his side's recent 2-0 triumph over Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

Earlier this Tuesday (October 1), the Gunners beat the Ligue 1 champions in front of their own fans in a UEFA Champions League contest. After Kai Havertz bagged the opening goal in the 20th minute, Bukayo Saka netted from a direct free-kick in the 35th minute of the tie.

Calafiori, who arrived from Bologna in a potential £42 million switch earlier in July, started his first-ever Champions League clash on Tuesday. He completed 21 of 26 passes, and won four of four tackles and won six of 12 total duels as a left-back in the clash against PSG.

Speaking on Wrighty's House podcast, Wright asserted that the Italian has helped Gabriel Martinelli regain his old form with his fine performances of late. He said (h/t Football365):

"I always thought our left-hand side wasn't properly activated. Even when we tried with [Oleksandr] Zinchenko or [Jakub] Kiwior, it didn't really work. Even playing [Jurrien] Timber there hasn't worked. With Calafiori, the way he activates Martinelli... he's a whole different kettle of fish now."

Wright, who helped Arsenal win one top-flight title as a player, added:

"Martinelli knows he can go because Calafiori is back there. When Zinchenko came to Arsenal, we saw a massive difference in terms of progressing the ball and controlling the game. But now, it seems like it's ramped up to another level with what Calafiori is capable of doing. I didn't know he had this much in his armoury."

Sharing more thoughts on the left-footed defender, Wright concluded:

"We hear a lot about players not adapting to the league or the team but he is plug and play, he's got it instantly. There's no way we thought we were getting this much of a player, no way."

Calafiori has scored once in seven overall appearances for Arsenal.

Arsenal aiming to snap up 21-year-old

According to famed journalist Christian Falk, Arsenal are keen to lure Florian Wirtz away from Bayer Leverkusen next summer. They are set to face competition from the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester City.

Wirtz, 21, shot to fame after guiding Leverkusen to a domestic double last season. He found the back of the net 18 times and provided 20 assists in 49 appearances across competitions for his club last campaign.

So far this season, the German playmaker has registered six goals and one assist in nine matches in all competitions for the Bundesliga outfit.