Cristhian Mosquera is en route from London to Singapore to join up with Arsenal’s pre-season tour, having spent the last few days finalising a move from Valencia.
The Athletic reported on July 14 that Arsenal were working to complete a deal for the centre-back, with negotiations advanced and personal terms already in place with the player.
Mosquera’s move was not finalised in time to join Arsenal on their flight to Asia on Saturday but the 21-year-old has now been given the green light to link up with the rest of the squad, and took a flight from Heathrow to Singapore on Tuesday morning.
The Spaniard’s transfer is still yet to be announced by either club.
Arsenal face AC Milan at the Singapore National Stadium on Wednesday before playing Premier League rivals Newcastle United at the same venue four days later.
They wrap up their pre-season trip to the Far East with a north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur in Hong Kong on July 31.
A defensive signing has been considered a priority for Arsenal this season and Mosquera is viewed as ideal cover for the first-choice duo of William Saliba and Gabriel, who played 51 and 42 games respectively last season.
It has been a busy summer for Mikel Arteta’s side having already signed Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad, Christian Norgaard from Brentford and Kepa Arrizabalaga and Noni Madueke from Chelsea. An agreement is also in place over a deal worth worth €73.5m with Sporting CP for striker Viktor Gyokeres.
A product of Valencia’s academy, Mosquera made his senior debut for the side in January 2022, aged 17. He spent time alternating between the senior team’s bench and the club’s reserve side before breaking through in the 2023-24 season, becoming a regular starter and appearing in 38 games in all competitions.
Mosquera has made 90 appearances for Valencia in total, scoring once.
He has been capped up to under-21 level by Spain and was part of the team that won the gold medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Why Arsenal wanted Mosquera
Analysis by Art de Roche and Thom Harris
Mikel Arteta has consistently reinforced Arsenal’s defence in recent summers, but injuries across the back line have held them back, explaining the search for more cover.
Mosquera has the benefit of playing both as a right-sided and left-sided centre-back. Right-footed, he broke into the Valencia on the right side as he replaced former Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Paulista. He moved across to the left last season due to the emergence of 23-year-old Cesar Tarrega.
The graphic below shows how Valencia used Mosquera over the past two seasons.
The Athletic described Mosquera as a ‘passive’ defender when news of Arsenal’s interest broke. That does not mean he allows forwards to attack him and is caught on the back foot — instead, he is selective about when he will put a foot in to make a challenge.
For example, in the graph below, he ranks fairly low across La Liga for ‘true tackles’ — a combination of tackles won, tackles lost and fouls committed while attempting a tackle — and ‘true interceptions’ (interceptions + blocked passes) per 1,000 opposition touches.
Despite that, his high true-tackle win rate shows how efficient he is when called into action. He also ranks highly for ball recoveries, showing he is good at sweeping up loose balls.
(Top photo: Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)