England vs. Netherlands - July 09, 2025
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Analysing Arsenal target Cristhian Mosquera: Versatility, taking on Mbappe – but room to improve
As Arsenal's summer signings arrive, their pursuit of Valencia defender Cristhian Mosquera has been consistent with a strand of recent activity: squad depth. Christian Norgaard, signed from Brentford, can boost numbers in midfield after Jorginho's departure. Kepa Arrizabalaga, from Chelsea, is an improved second-choice on Neto, who has returned to Bournemouth after a loan spell last season. Noni Madueke, another potential signing from Chelsea, would provide wide cover. Advertisement On Monday, The Athletic reported that Arsenal are working to complete a deal for Mosquera, a Spain Under-21 international who would be a deputy to William Saliba as a right-footed centre-back. Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu, who has left the club as a free agent, could have provided that cover last term, but both missed large spells with knee injuries. That forced Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to play two left-footed centre-backs alongside each other as the 2024-25 season ended. Saliba was forced off with a hamstring injury in Arsenal's penultimate game of the season, a 1-0 win against Newcastle United, and replaced by Riccardo Calafiori. Jakub Kiwior, a left-footer filling in for Gabriel Magalhaes, who suffered a hamstring injury in April, then moved across to play as a right-sided centre-back. The Poland international did so again in the 2-1 final-day win against Southampton, which Calafiori missed with a bruised knee. Kiwior has performed well when needed on the right side, but the shift highlighted a lack of cover for Saliba. 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, 21, 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 have 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. This side of Mosquera's game naturally shines through more often when he is defending on the right side of the pitch. While 4-4-2 has been Valencia's go-to formation, they have sometimes set up with a back five. That was the case when they beat Real Madrid 2-1 at the Bernabeu in April, just three days before Arsenal also beat Los Blancos in the Champions League quarter-final first leg. Advertisement Mosquera played on the right of the back three in that win against Madrid, the task being to stop Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe. He seemed to relish the challenge. He was willing to defend in wide areas against Vinicius Jr in the first half, showing him down the outside, keeping pace and then sticking a foot in to win the ball. In the first minute of the second half, Valencia were set in their shape. Vinicius Jr tried to pop up between the lines, but Mosquera was alert to the danger and quick to challenge his first touch. Into the final 10 minutes, Mbappe received the ball on the left, ready to break. Mosquera gestures to Tarrega to hold his position while he speeds back to make the recovery run. The young defender gets back, slows Mbappe down and then forces him to give possession away cheaply. It was an action that could be overlooked, because it was not a tackle, but it kept Valencia level and allowed them to score a 90th-minute winner later on. As Arsenal have become more dominant in the opposition half, their defenders have taken higher starting positions with each passing season. That makes the ability to defend big spaces, like Mosquera did against Mbappe, essential. It also demands a comfort with proactive defending near or beyond the halfway line, which Mosquera has shown at Valencia. Below is an example against Villarreal, when he was playing on the left side, and managed to kickstart an attack. When used as a left-sided centre-back, Mosquera sometimes defends differently from how he does on the right. Rather than waiting for the right moment to poke the ball away, on his wrong side, he can be more willing to take a chance. His long legs get him out of trouble in some instances, as seen below against Kazakhstan Under-21s. But there needs to be an understanding that this is still a very young centre-back, and sometimes the most eye-catching actions are not always the best. He attempted the same type of challenge against Osasuna in La Liga, and conceded a stonewall penalty. Another area for Mosquera to improve would be his aerial presence. Despite his height (188cm/6ft 2in according to FBref), he ranked 57th of the 62 central defenders in La Liga for aerial duel win rate last season (51.4 per cent). By comparison, Saliba (62 per cent) and Gabriel (59 per cent) ranked 22nd and 34th among 64 central defenders in the Premier League. Advertisement It is also important to remember that a defender winning an aerial duel does not always mean possession has been retained. There will be times when a touch anywhere will do, but if Arsenal are defending on the halfway line, then ensuring those situations are controlled is more important than risking everything to get a slight touch on the ball. For example, it is not uncommon to see one of Saliba or Gabriel challenge a striker in the air with the intention of unsettling them and letting the ball fall to their partner. Part of the reason for Mosquera's low ranking in aerial duels will also come from how he tends to defend in those scenarios. Rather than actively jumping to win a header against opposition strikers, he will try to use those long legs to come around the side and nick a touch on the ball like below. Sometimes this can work well, but other times, he can find himself in an unfavourable position. In possession, Mosquera passed forward more in the season just gone (10.3 per cent of his passes were progressive compared to 7.6 per cent the year before). His pass accuracy also increased from 89 per cent to 91.8 per cent. That willingness to pass forward was particularly evident when played in a back three, but he still has more strides to make. While he could find a pass into midfield, there were also occasions where his passes would give their recipients work to do to get it under control. He also had moments where a loose touch easily gifted possession to his opponents on the halfway line, with one of these moments leading to a goal for Real Valladolid. Other than his stylistic fit, his experience in Valencia's first team, playing 90 matches, will give Arsenal further encouragement. There will be room for improvement, like with any young player, but he has already racked up a decent amount of experience. Advertisement Calafiori and Kiwior are examples of young defenders who have proven to be valuable squad options. Both, of course, are left-footers. Now is time for a right-footed deputy. He is not the finished article, but it is clear why Arsenal identified Mosquera as an option for that role.
