Calafiori on life with Arsenal and the one thing he doesn’t like about London: ‘Too slow’

Arsenal and Italy star Riccardo Calafiori has given a detailed account of his day-to-day life in North London, has spoken about the main differences between life in the Premier League and Serie A and has revealed the one thing that he doesn’t like about living in the UK: ‘I don’t like how they drive here. They follow the rules too much and are a bit slow.’ 

Calafiori was a featured guest on the Supernova podcast, discussing the start of his career with Roma, life in London with Arsenal and his hopes for the Italy national team. 

Calafiori on life with Arsenal, differences between England and Italy

Calafiori has been based in England for the last 18 months following his transfer to Arsenal from Bologna in the summer of 2024. He has gone on to establish himself as one of Mikel Arteta’s first-choice defenders in a season that sees the Gunners sitting at the top of the Premier League table and aiming for a spot in the Champions League final.

“Ever since the gaffer has been there, we’ve always been there or thereabouts, often finishing second by a hair, but I think there’s been improvement every year,” Calafiori told the Supernova podcast. “I hope this is the decisive year.” 

Calafiori went on to discuss the differences between playing in the Premier League compared to Serie A. 

“Obviously everything is done at the highest levels, even at teams that might be a bit smaller.

“This is all a matter of, and it might be a bit ugly to say, but money, media attention, TV networks that broadcast the matches, so of course it’s normal that it’s followed a bit more compared to other leagues, and so more money and things like that. 

“The attention and care for players is quite different to what I was used to in Italy.” 

At Arsenal, it is often the norm for players to meet in a hotel the night before a game, even before home matches, which took a bit of getting used to. 

“You arrive, have dinner, then everyone either goes to their rooms or you hang out with your teammates and play a few games. And then you go to the game. Like I was saying earlier, something that really surprised me is that the stadiums are empty during the warm-ups.”

There are also differences in training methods between Italy and the UK. 

“In terms of time on the pitch, you train less (in England), very little. You spend a lot of time at the training ground, but (not) in terms of the actual time on the pitch, especially when we’re playing all year and want to get to the final in every competition. The best way to train is by playing as I’ve always said.

“They focus a lot on recovery, so when you go on the (training) pitch, the intensity is obviously high but in terms of minutes, maybe for about an hour maximum, maybe not even that.

“Obviously the culture is completely different. Like, if I think about Italy, training sessions are two hours, the tactics, it’s all different. Football is more tactical in Italy and here they think more about attacking.”

Unlike a lot of his Arsenal teammates, Calafiori has decided to live in central London rather than in the quieter outskirts. 

“I don’t know if you know, but London is enormous. So I live quite far away from my teammates, nobody lives where I live. It’s a London thing. Most of them have families and kids and live in houses nearer the training ground. I’m younger and on my own so I prefer living in the city.” 

Calafiori went on to give a detailed account of a typical day of Arsenal training. 

“Normally we check in by 9.15. It takes about 50 minutes to get there. I don’t drive, but I get around by a driver. I prefer not to drive here. I don’t have a car, but I can drive. I’m quite far away and I don’t like how they drive here. They follow the rules too much and are a bit slow.

“Sometimes you see these big traffic jams for no reason. Unfortunately that’s just how it is here. Everyone has their ways. 

“We have treatment and both meals, breakfast and lunch, so then it’s therapy, gym, video, more gym, indoor, on the pitch, then I get home at around three or four o’clock.” 

Calafiori also has regular check-ins from various members of his family: “They’re always available, let’s say once every two months or so, we manage. They live in Rome and I have a younger sister who’s 19, so I think she needs our parents a bit more than I do.” 

During the season, it is often dark by the time that Calafiori returns home, and as a high-profile individual, there isn’t an awful lot to distract himself with: “You get home and it’s dark and it’s not like there’s much to do, so it’s either playing the guitar or reading a book. Once I left school I lost the habit of reading. I started again two years ago. I really like it. Mostly novels more than anything. I don’t like autobiographies as much.”