Arsenal fans have urged Mikel Arteta to resist any temptations to drop one Gunners star for next week's clash with Liverpool after an impressive performance against Leeds United. The Premier League title contenders strolled to a 5-0 victory thanks to a doubles from Jurrien Timber and Viktoe Gyokeres, as well as one from Bukayo Saka in between.
Arteta will be sweating on the fitness of Saka and captain Martin Odegaard, who appeared to come off with hamstring and shoulder injuries respectively. And while those two may be at risk of missing the early championship clash at Anfield, supporters have made it clear that one player in particular must retain his place.
Fans Sing Praises of One Arsenal Player
While there were several impressive Arsenal performances on the night, the one unsung hero that received his fair share of praise on social media was Riccardo Calafiori. The Italian suffered an injury-hit debut campaign last season, but made the perfect start to his second term, scoring the only goal in the win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.
He kept his place on the left side of a back four against Leeds, and put in an even more complete performance. He added a further two goal contributions to his season tally, grabbing an assist for Gyokeres' first and Timber's second – albeit the finishers did most of the work on both occasions. However, that was just the cherry on top of a decent showing.
Defensively, he was quiet due to Arsenal's dominance, but kept the pacy Daniel James quiet while also making one block during a rare Leeds attempt on goal. Going forward though, he was a bigger threat than usual. He was 100% with his attempted dribbles and he continued to threaten in front of goal with three efforts in total being attempted.
As a result of his performance, fans were quick to take to social media to call for him to start against Liverpool and Mohamed Salah, with one saying: "I don't know how to explain it, but there is something elite about Calafiori. He's the guy you want on the pitch in the biggest match your team has to play."
A second said: "What do I need to sacrifice for the health and fitness of Ricardo Calafiori? I’m willing to do it I promise," while a third added: "Calafiori is rock n’ roll. What a player. He is a creative spark from LB. He makes everyone better."
A fourth mentioned that the Gunners had to "do everything to keep Calafiori fit," while a sixth summarised: "Calafiori unreal man, if we want the best from our striker, we gotta help him!"
The Italian has been able to keep Myles Lewis-Skelly out of the team at the start of the season, and after managing 64 minutes against Daniel Farke's side, supporters appear to be wishing that he is protected ahead of the trip to Merseyside.