Cristhian Mosquera: Who is Arsenal-linked Valencia defender available for £17m?

As Gooners cry out for attacking additions - and rightly so - Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta are busy working to bolster the team's defence for the 2025-26 season, potentially with four new rearguard-focused members.

Kepa Arrizabalaga, Christian Norgaard and Martin Zubimendi's arrivals are as good as done, and Arsenal are now thought to have switched their attention to rising defensive star Cristhian Mosquera of Valencia.

The 21-year-old is out of contract next summer, and Arsenal are believed to be in active talks to capture him for a cut-price fee, although they have already had one bid turned down.

Nevertheless, there is optimism that a deal will eventually be struck between the two parties, especially as Mosquera's Valencia contract contains a modest release clause of just £17m.

Ahead of the defender's potential Arsenal arrival, Sports Mole takes a closer look at Mosquera's career so far, his style of play and key statistics.

Cristhian Mosquera club career

Born and raised in Alicante, Mosquera - who is of Colombian heritage - began his footballing career with local outfit Hercules before being spotted by Valencia, who added him to their youth ranks at the age of 12.

Rising through the youth system with Los Che, Mosquera was just 17 years old when he made his debut in a Copa del Rey match in January 2022, earning high praise both internally and externally as he played his part in a 1-0 success over Atletico Baleares.

The defender also earned six La Liga appearances that year - including in hard-fought draws with Sevilla and Real Sociedad - but his big breakthrough came in 2023-24, where he established himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet and made 33 starting lineups in the La Liga campaign.

Another 37 top-flight starts came Mosquera's way in the 2024-25 campaign, where the 21-year-old sat out just one top-flight match in the entire season due to suspension, and Valencia no doubt missed his presence in that game; a 7-1 obliteration at the hands of Barcelona.

Just a couple of weeks later, Mosquera struck his first senior goal in a 2-0 win over Leganes and also played every minute of a stellar 10-match unbeaten run between March 2 and May 10, a sequence that included a statement two-goal victory over Real Madrid.

Cristhian Mosquera style of play/statistics

While primarily comfortable in the heart of defence, Mosquera is also adept at right-back and has few problems covering the left channel either, a huge box ticked for a manager who loves versatility as much as Arteta.

Mosquera boasts an intimidating 6ft 3in frame, meaning he would add to Arsenal's ever-growing list of physical monsters, and he often attempts to use such features to his advantage when duelling with attackers.

The 21-year-old does the fundamentals of defending to a good degree; he is strong in the tackle, quick to position himself to eliminate any threat inside the box and also times his sliding challenges well.

When compared to all other centre-backs in the big five European leagues over the past year, Mosquera ranks in the top 7% for dribblers tackled - winning 77.5% of such duels - while also averaging 5.15 recoveries per game, putting him in the 92nd percentile.

Further forward, Mosquera has not exactly offered much of a goal or playmaking threat in the embryonic stages of his career, but he is happy to spray a long pass forward and switch the play.

The youngster's height would ostensibly make him another danger from set-pieces too, but aerial duels have not been his forte so far; he has won just 44.6% of such battles over the past year, putting him in the bottom 6% for centre-backs.

However, this will be music to Gooners' ears; Mosquera is yet to suffer a serious injury in his fledgling career and boasts a near-impeccable record from his time in Spain.

Cristhian Mosquera international career

Despite being eligible to represent Colombia through his parents, Mosquera has almost exclusively donned the Spain jersey at youth level.

The 2004-born product is yet to make his senior debut for the European champions, but he has represented his nation of birth from Under-15 to Under-21 level, including at last year's Paris Olympic Games.

Mosquera only made one appearance at the tournament, but he nevertheless collected a gold medal, and he has now turned out 11 times for Spain's Under-21 side in all competitions.

At the recent Under-21 European Championships, Mosquera provided a crucial assist for Spain's equaliser in a 2-1 group-stage win over Romania, before playing the full 90 in a 3-1 quarter-final loss to defending champions England.

While Mosquera is still waiting for his first maiden Spain call-up, he can choose to switch allegiance and represent Colombia, who like Arsenal could soon launch their own charm offensive to secure the services of the promising, adaptable young defender.

Written by
Ben Knapton