Ricardo Calafiori has been an Arsenal player since the summer of 2024, and although he was originally signed to play in central defence for Mikel Arteta, he has since been transformed into the Gunners' first-choice left-back.
The former Bologna man has the ability to play across the entire back four, and that kind of ‘anything for the team' approach often results in a strong relationship with supporters.
That is absolutely the case for Calafiori, who enjoys a good rapport with matchgoing Arsenal fans, which was only strengthened when the player was caught on camera singing ‘North London Forever‘ before a match at the Emirates Stadium in August 2024.
Calafiori now has his own Arsenal chant, too, and if you're looking for all the most important information on the chant, then you're in the right place.
Riccardo Calafiori chant, lyrics and tune
The Riccardo Calafiori chant is sung to a tune previously used by Liverpool fans for Mario Balotelli. The lyrics are as follows:
And you're fantastico,
And you're magnifico,
Ole, ole,
Calafiori!
Ricardo Calafiori chant background
There are many Liverpool fans who have accused Arsenal supporters of stealing their chants in recent years. Take the Eberechi Eze chant as an example, which was created shortly after Liverpool created a similar chant for Federico Chiesa.
This Calafiori chant will only strengthen their argument, but this one may be more innocent, as the Balotelli chant to the same tune was created over ten years ago. The chant is also quite a natural one for any Italian player, given that half of them are in Italian (fantastico and magnifico).
There is no indication that this chant has made it into the stands at the Emirates Stadium yet, but generally speaking, once it is sung in a stadium concourse (as seen in the video below), it isn't long until it filters through to the stands.
Arsenal fans singing the Ricardo Calafiori chant
FGG says: A lack of effort at play
Arsenal fans have created some brilliant football chants in recent years, but this doesn't fall into that category. Regardless of whether it has been stolen from Liverpool fans or not, the chant doesn't really work in this format, with the words ‘and you're' used before ‘magnifico' and ‘fantastico' instead of the player's name.