Fans have spotted how two Arsenal players reacted when Riccardo Calafiori was introduced to his new teammates.
On Monday Arsenal completed the signing of Riccardo Calafiori from Serie A side Bologna for a fee of up to £42 million including add-ons.
The Italian defender penned a five-year contract after the two clubs reached an agreement after weeks of talks.
The 22-year-old is a versatile player, capable playing at centre-back, left-back, defensive midfield and even left-wing.
Advert
Arsenal had the best defence in the Premier League last season, conceding just 29 goals, but now have an even stronger backline.
Mikel Arteta now has two players in each defensive position, but that of course means that some are going to find themselves on the bench more often than they would like.
The arrival of Calafiori could be bad news for Jurrien Timber and Jakub Kiwior, both of whom are hoping to start either in central defence or left-back.
Both had difficult 2023-24 campaigns; Timber missed most of the season after suffering a torn ACL on his club debut, while Kiwior struggled for minutes ahead of Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Upon signing for Arsenal Calafiori flew straight to the United States to join the club's pre-season tour.
Arsenal published to their YouTube channel footage of Arteta introducing Calafiori to the squad, with the Italian giving a short speech and receiving a round of applause from his teammates.
Fans noticed Timber's reaction, as he shot the new recruit a look after applauding him.
Kiwior smiled as he entered the room and high-fived a coach, but one fan commented: "Does he know?"
Another fan wrote: "Look at Timber," prompting another to reply: "Thought I was the only one who saw it, he knows, competition just gets stiffer."
Arsenal will face Liverpool, Bayer Leverkusen and Lyon in friendlies before kicking off their Premier League campaign against Wolves on August 17.
Topics: Arsenal, Transfer News, Premier League, Mikel Arteta, Jurrien Timber, Fan Reactions
Alex Brotherton