John McGinn says £42m Arsenal player is so much stronger than he expected
John McGinn has high praise for an Arsenal defender you might not initially expect.
The Aston Villa captain has established himself as one of the most reliable and physical midfielders in the league.
But one Arsenal player in particular surprised him with how strong they are.
Appearing on the latest episode of Stick to Football, McGinn answered some quickfire questions and was asked to name the single toughest opponent he has come up against on the pitch.
While Manchester United’s Luke Shaw earned a shout, McGinn singled out Arsenal’s Riccardo Calafiori, admitting the Italian defender’s physical strength caught him completely off guard.
“Do you know who really surprised me? Calafiori,” he said. “Calafiori and Luke Shaw would be my two hardest opponents.
“Calafiori was much stronger than I thought. I was really impressed with him.”
If he were to pick any Arsenal defender, you’d have assumed he might pick Gabriel Magalhaes or William Saliba, or maybe his midfield battles with Declan Rice.
But McGinn, who does sometimes play in off of the right wing, actually went with the Arsenal left-back.
Calafiori is renowned for being technically brilliant but it seems he more than holds his own physically too.
And he wasn’t the only Arsenal player who came up in conversation during the interview.
When asked to name the most underrated teammate he’s played with, McGinn immediately named Ezri Konsa, only for Jamie Carragher to playfully interrupt and correct him: “Ex-teammate!”
With the show filmed prior to Arsenal officially unveiling Konsa last Friday, McGinn slightly awkwardly laughed it off, asking “Has it been announced yet?”
Arsenal now have incredible strength in depth at the back. Whether Konsa will immediately come in and play against McGinn and his former teammates on Monday night at Aston Villa, remains to be seen.
Martin Keown isn’t convinced, and thinks Cristhian Mosquera should keep his place in the starting lineup for the time being.
