Arsenal’s new signing Riccardo Calafiori was so determined to join the club that he told Mikel Arteta, “My bags are packed, I just want to join Arsenal.”

The Italian defender, who signed a five-year contract with Arsenal worth around £42million, has already joined the squad in Philadelphia and is hoping to feature against Liverpool this Wednesday.

Arteta said, “I spoke to him one or two times, and I wasn’t sure if we could do it or not. He was adamant, ‘Let me know when you’re ready, my bags are packed and I just want to join Arsenal.’ Those were his words.”

Riccardo Calafiori pictured (right) signing his Arsenal contract next to manager Mikel Arteta

Arteta added, “When you have someone with that willingness and that passion to join and make us better, and that determination, it’s really powerful. As a club, we should be really proud of that.”

Arsenal play Liverpool on Wednesday at the Lincoln Financial Field, where Calafiori could make his debut. However, Arteta is cautious, saying, “I don’t know, he had a long flight yesterday and the medical. The last 48 hours have been busy for him. He hasn’t really done anything with the team. Let’s see how he is.”

On what Calafiori brings to the team, Arteta said, “He is a player that we have monitored for about a year. We were really short in the backline last season in terms of numbers. We demanded so much from them.”

According to Arteta, Calafiori was ‘adamant’ that he was going to move to Arsenal this summer

Calafiori has already joined up with the Arsenal squad on their pre-season tour of the United States and is eager to make an impact.

Arteta concluded, “He is a player with a huge capacity to develop. We identified him as a top player, a talent who has the skills and qualities that are going to make us better.”