Riccardo Calafiori believes Arsenal’s Community Shield victory can set the tone for the season, after Mikel Arteta’s side beat Manchester City 3-0 on Sunday.
The defender needed only 25 seconds to open the scoring, before Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard completed a comfortable win.
Speaking to ESPN Brazil’s João Castelo-Branco afterwards, Calafiori stressed the importance of starting the campaign with silverware.
“I think the title is important, but for me it was more a test of mentality… that we can win,” he said.
“We’ve started the season well and won an important title. We deserved it and it’s an important point to start the season like this and try to do better than last year.”
Of course Arsenal went on to win the 2025/26 Premier League, finishing ahead of Manchester City. This last result could be a sign that they are now even stronger heading into this season.
The Community Shield is hardly the trophy they will ultimately be judged on. Still, beating Manchester City 3-0 is a decent way to reinforce belief inside Arteta’s squad.
Calafiori explains his Brazilian connections
Riccardo Calafiori then moved away from the football itself and spoke about his relationship with Brazil.
The Italy international recently visited Rio de Janeiro and clearly enjoyed the experience. His connection with Brazilian culture goes back much further, though.
“Since I was little, I liked the songs, especially samba,” Calafiori explained. “I think at the beginning, one of my agents, who spoke Portuguese very well, showed them to me.”
The Arsenal defender also revealed he tries to use Portuguese with the Brazilian players at the club. That group now includes Bruno Guimarães, who made his official Arsenal debut in Sunday’s victory.
The midfielder has joined a squad which could soon have a smaller Brazilian group. Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli could both leave, which would leave Gabriel Magalhães as the only other Brazilian in Arteta’s squad.
Calafiori was particularly taken by the atmosphere he found during his trip to Brazil.
“The thing I like most is the energy and the mentality of the people,” he said. “Everyone is happy, dancing, listening to music… a lot of energy.”
For the moment, though, his immediate focus will be on carrying Sunday’s start into the season proper. Scoring after 25 seconds and lifting a trophy is about as good an opening as he could have asked for.
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