Arsenal have been handed a big lift ahead of the much-talked-about North London Derby, with Riccardo Calafiori officially cleared and set to return to the squad. Despite the noise earlier in the week, the 23-year-old defender is not injured, and club sources close to Softfootball have now confirmed he’ll be back with the team after international duty.
Calafiori had travelled with Italy but ended up returning to London earlier than expected after feeling a slight hip discomfort. It was nothing dramatic, just one of those small issues that come up after a busy run of games.
He was left out of Italy’s 2–0 win over Moldova and didn’t make the trip for Sunday’s qualifier against Norway, which naturally sparked speculation. But Arsenal later explained that it was only a precaution because of training overload, not a fresh injury problem.
Interestingly, Mikel Arteta had preferred the defender to stay in London to manage his workload, but Italy wanted him involved due to how tight their World Cup qualifying situation currently looks. Gennaro Gattuso and delegation lead Gianluigi Buffon insisted on his presence, underlining how important he is to the squad, even if he didn’t eventually feature.
Now back in North London, Arsenal’s medical team have checked him over and don’t expect any setbacks, as revealed by Fabrizio Romano via his official X account. Calafiori is expected to join full training next week, which is massive for Arteta considering the injuries piling up: Gabriel’s hamstring issue, plus concerns around Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli.
Fabrizio tweeted:
Understand Arsenal check confirms news from the last 24h: Riccardo Calafiori will be available for the North London Derby.
No injury, no issues. Just overload. #AFC
With Arsenal sitting at the top of the Premier League table, getting Calafiori ready for the derby at the Emirates on November 23 is huge. He has started every league match this season and has quietly become one of the pillars of Arsenal’s defensive structure. His availability now gives Arteta one less headache before one of the biggest matches of the season.
