Riccardo Calafiori dreams of Roma return amid Arsenal challenges

Riccardo Calafiori says he still dreams of returning to his boyhood club Roma after leaving midway through his development there. The 23-year-old reflected on his sudden departure during Jose Mourinho’s tenure and spoke of unfinished business and the desire to celebrate a goal in front of the Curva Sud.

Calafiori moved from Bologna to Arsenal in 2025 and remains highly rated by Mikel Arteta, but hip and muscular injuries limited him to 1,600 minutes on the pitch this season. On the Supernova podcast he acknowledged: "Yes, I would like to return to Roma. Obviously I can't plan my entire career right now, but I would like to return because I left it halfway." He says his standing at Roma changed after the 6-1 defeat to Bodo Glimt, a result that effectively ended his chances of securing a regular starting place and preceded a difficult loan at Genoa.

"I started the first six months with Mourinho, at the beginning it went quite well and I played as a starter.

riccardo calafiori, roma, arsenal, mikel arteta, jose mourinho, bologna, genoa, curva sud, bodo glimt, hip injuries