Riccardo Calafiori made his point in Dublin after Wednesday's 3-1 friendly defeat by Real Betis at the Aviva Stadium, where he played 62 minutes. Arsenal were preparing to defend their first Premier League title in 22 years, and Calafiori said that means acting like a team at the top rather than one protecting what it already has. "We are on that level now. We are on top," he told standard.co.uk.

Arsenal's status and the kind of players they want

Calafiori's wider point was straightforward. Arsenal won the 2025 Premier League with 85 points, finished first again in their Champions League group stage with 24 points, and now want to keep moving. He said the club need players like Bruno Guimarães and Vinícius Júnior, which is a fair reflection of where the squad thinks it is. If you are defending a title, the target is not consolidation, it is another upgrade.

The Guimarães link is the cleaner example because his profile matches the argument Calafiori is making. He has 4 assists in 5 World Cup matches and a 7.11 rating in 5 appearances this year, numbers that fit the idea of a midfielder who raises the level rather than simply filling a shirt. Bradley Barcola is another name in the wider conversation, but Calafiori's point was less about one target than about Arsenal's ambition.

Arteta stays cautious on the names

There is a limit to how much of that business Arsenal will discuss publicly. Mikel Arteta said he would not talk about players who are not Arsenal players, and that line is doing a lot of work here. The club can signal ambition, but it will not say much about deals until they are far further down the line.

That is the tension around the Vinícius Jr chatter too. Real Madrid are pushing a new deal, and the player has not been presented as done for Arsenal. Calafiori can talk openly about the level Arsenal are at, but Arteta is still choosing silence on the targets themselves. It leaves Arsenal with two messages at once: the squad believes it belongs at the top, and the manager is not going to feed the transfer noise before the market does.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →