Cristhian Mosquera filmed at airport ahead of £13m Arsenal transfer as Valencia exit confirmed

Valencia defender Cristhian Mosquera has been filmed arriving at a Spanish airport as he prepares to conclude his summer transfer to Arsenal.

A breakthrough is understood to have been reached in negotiations between the two sides yesterday, and Arsenal will pay an initial £13m for the signature of the Spain Under-21 international.

Mosquera's Valencia contract - which only had a year left to run - included a €20m (£17.4m) release clause, but even with add-ons included, the Gunners will reportedly pay under that amount for the 21-year-old.

Personal terms between Mosquera and Arsenal have also been agreed, and the centre-back is now en route to North London to complete a medical and sign his long-term contract.

On Monday evening, Mosquera was seen arriving at a Valencia airport, where Deportes COPE Valencia caught a word with him before he boarded his flight to the UK.

Mosquera confirms Valencia exit ahead of Arsenal switch

| Vídeo @DepCOPEValencia | ?

? Cristian Mosquera pone rumbo a Londres para firmar por el @Arsenal

?️ “Me voy orgulloso. Ahora a ver cómo se da todo y es el club quien debe hablar” pic.twitter.com/NXxTazBuTN

— Deportes COPE Valencia (@DepCOPEValencia) July 15, 2025

"I’m leaving proud. Now let’s see how everything unfolds, and it’s up to the club to speak," Mosquera said, having already confirmed his exit from Los Che at the club's training ground earlier in the day.

"Valencia is my home and it always will be," the defender told a group of reporters. "I arrived when I was 12, and now I am leaving as a grown man. [I am] a little sad because [I have] been here [my] whole life, but decisions in football are like that.

"Now a new era begins. I prefer the club to talk first, and then whatever happens, it will happen. It's exciting, but it's also sad."

Mosquera arrived at Valencia as a 12-year-old in 2016, and after progressing through the club's youth academy, he went on to make 90 senior appearances for the La Liga giants, scoring one goal.

The 21-year-old was named in the starting lineup in all but one of Valencia's top-flight games during the 2024-25 season, only missing one match through suspension - a 7-1 defeat to Barcelona in January.

Internationally, Mosquera was part of the Spain squad that won Olympic gold last summer, and the 2004-born centre-back made three starts for La Roja at this year's Under-21 Euros, where they lost to champions England in the quarter-finals.

Arsenal accelerate transfer business before pre-season tour

Could a triple unveiling be imminent? Right now, the only question on Arsenal fans' lips is who will be announced first out of Mosquera, Viktor Gyokeres and Noni Madueke, as all three deals are on the verge of completion.

Chelsea winger Madueke is likely to be the first, as the England international is understood to have already passed his medical, and an announcement could even come as early as Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a fee has been agreed with Sporting Lisbon for Gyokeres, who gave Arsenal his personal green light a while back, as the Gunners prepare to welcome their fourth, fifth and sixth new recruits to the club.

Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard and Kepa Arrizabalaga are already getting settled into their new surroundings ahead of Arsenal's pre-season tour of Asia, which begins with a blockbuster battle against AC Milan in Singapore on July 23.

Written by
Ben Knapton