William Gallas singles out Arsenal player who ‘makes lots of mistakes’ and must be dropped as they close in on Calafiori

WILLIAM GALLAS has singled out Oleksandr Zinchenko to be dropped as Arsenal close in on signing Riccardo Calafiori.

The Italian defender is set to join the Gunners squad in the US on their pre-season tour after agreeing a deal thought to be worth £42million.

3

3

3

The 22-year-old, who can play at centre-back or left-back, could spell trouble for Jakbub Kiwior and Zinchenko.

But Arsenal legend Gallas reckons Zinchenko made a hugely positive early impact upon his move to Arsenal from  two years ago.

However, his form dropped last season and he now "makes lots of mistakes" after also suffering from a series of injuries, he claimed.

He said to : "I think Zinchenko had similar problems when he was at Manchester City.

READ MORE ON ARSENAL

ARSENAL 2 MAN UTD 1

Resurrected Jesus strikes again as Ten Hag's injury curse returns in LA

FESTIVE TREAT

Win a 3 bed lodge, Lambo AND £10k cash or £360k from just £1.61 with our code

"If you can remember, I don’t think that he played in that many of their big games because  thought that his defensive ability was limited.

"With the ball and in possession, he’s a talented player. He is good on the counter-attack, but when you ask him to defend and when you put him under pressure, he makes mistakes.

"He has made a lot of mistakes at Arsenal which is why they are looking to improve their defence.

"I think Arsenal’s football has moved on from what Zinchenko offers them."

Most read in Football

RASH MOVE

Marcus Rashford's Man Utd team-mates are FUMING over forward's interview

WAG FEUD

Moment Jorginho’s fiancee confronts woman in showdown over Arsenal star

IT'S OVER

Fresh blow to Marcus Rashford as Man Utd ace is DUMPED by girlfriend

FOOTY HORROR

Football fan, 36, dies after being hit by car while 'walking to game with dad'

BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS

Calafiori put in some impressive displays in Serie A last season, making 30 appearances for Bologna, helping them qualify for the Champions League.

And Gallas believes the addition of Calafiori will make Arsenal's defence even stronger.

He added: "I did speak to one of my friends who knows a lot about Italian football and asked him what he thought of him,

"My friend played in Italy for several years and watches Serie A every week – he played for Inter Milan and Lazio, he was a great player, but I’m not going to say who – and he told me that Ricardo Calafiori is really, really good.

"He’s young. He has good quality, and he can play as a centre-back or as a left-back.

"I think he would be a good signing for Arsenal because the club doesn’t really have a left back at the moment. There are doubts about that position."

ARSENAL TRANSFER NEWS LIVE: All the latest deals and rumours from the Emirates