Riccardo Calafiori became Arsenal’s first summer addition this week after putting pen to paper on a five-year deal at the Emirates. 

The Italian caught the eye – in more ways than one – during his country’s Euro 2024 campaign, having excelled for Thiago Motta’s thrilling Bologna side last term. 

Mikel Arteta was happy for his side to part with £42million for the 22-year-old defender, who is yet to make 100 first team appearances in his career. But the Gunners boss is building an impressive resume when it comes to recruiting and developing defenders.

Following Calafiori’s capture, Mail Sport takes a look at the other 10 defenders signed by the Spanish coach and how they have fared over the years. 

Pablo Mari – £4million

Mari has the distinction of being Arteta’s first signing at the cub. He was acquired from Flamengo in January 2020 amid a defensive crisis that saw Calum Chambers and Shkodran Mustafi sidelined with injuries and Konstantinos Mavropanos leave for Nurnberg on loan. 

It will not be lost on Gunners fans just how far they have come in the past four-and-a-half-years. 

Mari made 22 appearances for the side during a largely uninspiring spell that lasted only two seasons. He was loaned out to Italian outfit Monza for the duration of the 2022-23 campaign before joining the side permanently the following season.

He was always intended to be a short-term solution for Arteta during his first transfer window but he still ultimately failed to leave any lasting impression on the club. 

Cedric Soares – Free

In a strangely similar move to the Mari deal, Arsenal snapped up right-back Cedric Soares from Southampton in January 2020. The Portuguese, who had six months remaining on his Saints contract, moved to the Emirates on loan before completing a permanent switch as a free agent that summer.

Soares revealed that he had come close to joining the Gunners a couple of months prior upon signing and perhaps he would be better thought of if that was the case. Instead, the defender that arrived in north London was a shadow of the one that impressed on the south coast.

His best league return during his Arsenal career came during the 2021-22 season when he featured 21 times in the Premier League. Soares was swiftly replaced by another name on this list and  – after a failed loan spell two seasons ago – he finally left the Gunners on a free last term. 

Gabriel Magalhaes – £27m

One of three ‘Gabriels’ in the Arsenal first-team, Gabriel Magalhaes is unquestionably the most important. The Brazilian was integral to the Premier League’s best defence last season, while he also proved to be a threat from set pieces. 

During the 2023-24 season, no team conceded fewer goals than Arsenal’s 29, none could match their 18 clean sheets and only a Chelsea side from 15 years ago bettered their number of home shutouts. 

William Saliba continues to take many of the plaudits for Arsenal’s outstanding defending but Gabriel is every bit as crucial. Remarkably, it wasn’t always that way. Following his £27m move from Lille, the 26-year-old looked a liability.

As recently as the start of last season, rumours abound of him being close to an exit after being excluded from Arsenal’s opening day starting XI. But Gabriel has proved to be a huge success and a great example of Arteta’s defensive instincts. 

Nuno Tavares – £7m

 Unfortunately, such a glowing reference cannot be made of Nuno Taveres, who never managed to shake his reputation as an unreliable, error-prone left-back. 

The Portuguese moved to the Emirates in 2021 from Benfica and made 22 appearances in his debut campaign, although most of those outings came in the first part of the season. 

Arteta didn’t dally when the summer of 2022 came and he was promptly shipped off to Marseille before a second loan spell with Nottingham Forest last term. The 24-year-old remains on the books and has just secured his third temporary move in as many seasons. 

He’ll hope life in the Italian capital with Lazio is kinder to him. 

Ben White – £50m

White has been ever-present in the Arsenal defence since his big-money move from Brighton in 2021. He has missed only seven league games in the last three seasons for the Gunners and six of those came in his debut campaign. 

Initially used as a centre-back, White has become one of the most reliable full-backs in world football and his versatility and dependability would likely see him included in any squad on the globe. 

Many scoffed at the price tag when he joined, despite impressive spells with the Seagulls and Leeds, but that fee now seems like an absolute bargain. 

Takehiro Tomiyasu – £20m

Arsenal’s last raid of Bologna yielded the steady Takehiro Tomiyasu. In many ways he is not too dissimilar to White, in that Arteta can largely trust him to carry out defensive duties and even sporadically contribute in attack. 

But ultimately, Ben White he is not. And the Japanese defender – adept at playing across the backline – is undeniably a back-up.  Injuries have not been kind over the past two seasons as he racked up only 16 starts. 

And the arrival of Calafiori could see him on his way out of the club in short order. That being said, Tomiyasu has been a decent servant for the side up until now.

Auston Trusty – £1.5m

Arsenal hoped that they would be able to develop USA international Auston Trusty when they swooped to sign him from MLS side Colorado Rapids on Deadline Day of the January 2022 transfer window.

The transfer came as part of a growing relationship between the clubs, who are both by Kroenke Sports Entertainment. 

But the centre-back never made an appearance in north London. After being immediately loaned back to MLS that winter, he moved to Birmingham City before being sold to Sheffield United for £5m last term. 

Oleksandr Zinchenko – £32m

The arrival of Zinchenko at Arsenal signalled the Gunners’ transition to credible title challengers. Unfortunately for the Ukrainian, he may not be deemed good enough to remain by the time they realize that ambition. 

Still, the 27-year-old and Arteta must be credited for the transformation in the side since his £32m signing from Manchester City in 2023. The Arsenal boss had worked alongside him during his tenure as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at the Etihad, and it showed. 

Zinchenko allowed Arsenal to adopt a dominant approach in possession, with his debut campaign seeing the Gunners rise from fifth to second. He featured 27 times in the league last term, as he did in 2022-23, but Zinchenko faced increasing criticism from Arsenal fans for his defensive deficiencies. 

Like Tomiyasu, Calafiori’s signing could spell the end for the four-time Premier League winner in north London. 

Jakub Kiwior – £21m

It may be a little too early to assess Kiwior’s signing after only 18 months at the club. The Poland international joined from Spezia and was clearly brought in to bolster the Gunners’ numbers  rather than be a starter from the off. 

It’s fair to say he hasn’t exactly wowed just yet, but he did enjoy a run of 10 games in the Premier League – in which the side recorded eight wins, one draw and one defeat – that could point to a brighter future. 

And at still only 24-years-old, he certainly has plenty of time to make his mark. 

Jurrien Timber – £41m 

Timber suffered a cruel season-ending injury just 45 minutes into his Arsenal debut following a £41m move from Dutch giants Ajax. Arsenal fans will be fully justified in claiming that he ‘feels like a new signing’. 

It will be interesting to see where he is deployed, especially after the addition of a player that shares so many qualities with him.