Arsenal star gifts fan shirt in heartwarming encounter

After Italy’s defeat to Belgium last week, Riccardo Calafiori had spoken about the painful boos from the Italian home support, and the team’s desire to put things right.

That’s exactly what happened on Monday night, as Italy ran riot away to Turkiye, winning 4-1. Turkiye did make a spirited effort to fight back in the second half, but they’d given themselves a mountain to climb after going 3-0 down in half an hour.

The hosts’ only goal came from a bizarre decision by Gianluigi Donnarumma to race out of his six-yard box to close down a shot from a near-impossible angle, allowing Oguz Aydin to square for Baris Yilmaz to score into an empty net.

Calafiori will have enjoyed the result, but he was only on the bench for the game. The Arsenal defender could definitely use the rest, given his injury history.

But Calafiori did get one moment in the spotlight after the final whistle, as broadcast cameras caught him handing his shirt to a young fan.

The fan was clearly delighted with the gift, jumping up and down, hugging Calafiori repeatedly, kissing his boots, then celebrating by punching the air as he ran off back to the stands.

Italy have two more big games to come in the remainder of the international break, facing France away from home on Friday, before their reverse fixture at home to Turkiye on Monday.

Calafiori will presumably be back in the lineup against France, but that’s certainly going to be a tricky game to win.