EXCL: Calafiori Arsenal signing is scary for the rest of the Premier League, latest on Nketiah's future and thoughts on ex-Gunner's dig at the club

Arsenal had to be patient but are close to an exciting signing in Calafiori, plus the latest on Nketiah, Smith Rowe and thoughts on those Pepe comments...

Patient approach pays off with Riccardo Calafiori transfer

Arsenal have had to stay patient when it comes to their move for Riccardo Calafiori. But that is something they have shown they are willing to be when it comes to landing players they really want.

You just have to look at when they signed Martin Odegaard on a permanent basis from Real Madrid in 2021 as a prime example of that.

They were made to wait all summer by Madrid and could easily have grown frustrated and moved on to other targets. But they were happy to play the waiting game because Mikel Arteta and Edu were convinced Odegaard was a player who could take the team to the next level and they have been rewarded for that patience.

They have not had to wait as long for Calafiori as they did for Odegaard and I don’t think they were ever worried that the deal would not get done. It feels like talks with Bologna have gone relatively well. It’s the massive sell-on fee that Basel will be due for the deal that has made things a bit tricky.