Returning Calafiori on a strong defensive display | Interview | News

Riccardo Calafiori admitted the energy of the Emirates Stadium crowd helped push him through our 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest.

The Italy international had been out for a month with a knee problem, but with Ben White also suffering a similar fate, Riccardo was needed to play in a reshuffled defense which performed superbly to keep a clean sheet and prevent the visitors from getting a goal of their own shot on target.

And he feels the set-up at the club allows any player to seamlessly come into our side and keep the level of performance high, which was evident when we got back to winning ways.

Reflecting on how the defense has changed so much this season, Riccardo said: “I think everything is made for us to play the same way and everyone helped me a lot. The environment around – you just play and it feels like I’ve never been after some kind of point.

“I really enjoyed the game tonight, it was a great performance by everyone. The energy was incredible and so were the fans. We really enjoyed the game and I especially enjoyed the game.”

Riccardo played his first minutes since the 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth and missed the following six games. His return was timely for Mikel Arteta as the games continue to come thick and fast, which the summer arrival hopes to have a big impact on now that he has 67 minutes left under his belt.

“I don’t feel like I’m tired, but I’ve definitely missed some games and felt it on the pitch,” he admitted after the game. “But then the stadium gave me the energy. The fans and also my teammates helped me a lot so I felt really good at the end. I can’t wait to show them what I can do on the field again and to show my teammates to help them.

“We need some really good wins now in a row. From now until March there will be no rest, all the same weeks and we are ready to do this and to win most games for sure.”