Cristhian Mosquera medical 'issues' arise after Arsenal transfer announcement 'leak'

Cristhian Mosquera is allegedly yet to be announced as an Arsenal player due to 'issues' relating to the defender's medical.

Earlier this week, the Gunners were said to have agreed a deal with Valencia for the 21-year-old centre-back, who will join Mikel Arteta's side for an initial fee of around £13m.

Mosquera bid farewell to Valencia a few days ago and was also seen arriving at an airport to catch a plane to North London, where he has agreed a long-term contract at the Emirates Stadium.

Following confirmation of Noni Madueke's arrival from Chelsea on Friday, Arsenal appeared to accidentally leak Mosquera's signing, as a picture of the Spaniard being interviewed in a Gunners kit was posted on Getty Images.

The image was swiftly deleted, but Arsenal are yet to unveil the Olympic gold medallist as their fifth signing of the summer, and the reason for the delay has supposedly now been revealed.

Mosquera medical 'issues' hold up Arsenal transfer announcement

According to Teamnewsandtix - via afcstuff - 'issues' arose during Mosquera's Arsenal medical, and those complications must be sorted out before an announcement can be made.

The exact nature of those problems cannot be disclosed due to medical confidentiality reasons, but there is nothing to suggest that Mosquera's transfer to Arsenal could be at the risk of collapse.

As a result, the 21-year-old should soon be confirmed as Arsenal's fifth arrival of the summer window, following Madueke, Christian Norgaard, Martin Zubimendi and Kepa Arrizabalaga to North London.

Mosquera will leave Valencia having scored one goal in 90 appearances for Los Che, and he was involved in all but one of their La Liga games last season, only missing a 7-1 loss to Barcelona through suspension.

The 2004-born centre-back - who can also play as a right-back - was also involved in Spain's Under-21 Euros campaign this summer, as La Roja lost to champions England in the quarter-finals.

Should Arsenal fans be worried by Mosquera 'medical' issues?

News of 'issues' arising in Mosquera's medical may feel very Arsenal to Arsenal fans, whose team were ravaged by fitness problems in the 2024-25 season as they settled for silver in the Premier League yet again.

In classic Gunners fashion, it would be typical for a player who has never suffered a serious injury in his career to pick up a problem as soon as he arrives in North London, but his fitness record still speaks for itself.

If Arsenal are still confident that this unknown complication will be resolved, Gooners should be confident too, especially as Mosquera will certainly not be playing 90 minutes on a weekly basis.

Instead, the 21-year-old will be expected to act as William Saliba's deputy during the 2025-26 season, while he can also cover for Gabriel Magalhaes at left centre-back and for Jurrien Timber and Ben White right-back.

It remains to be seen if Mosquera will join Arsenal on their pre-season tour of Asia, but he may have to wait until August to make his unofficial debut for the Gunners.

Written by
Ben Knapton