Cristhian Mosquera has shared his thoughts on competing with Arsenal duo William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes.
Arsenal sit top of the Premier League table after seven matches, in part due to the contributions of some of the summer arrivals in N5.
Mosquera was bought from Valencia for £13 million, arriving at the Emirates alongside seven other players, as Andrea Berta spent in excess of £250 million in the transfer window.
The Spanish centre-back was signed to provide cover and competition for Saliba and Gabriel, and he’s certainly fulfilled this role effectively so far.
Cristhian Mosquera shares his thoughts on competing with William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes
Saliba and Gabriel have formed a formidable partnership in recent years at Arsenal.
The centre-back duo have arguably established themselves as the best in the world, and have been the cornerstone of the Gunners’ excellent defensive record.
Thus, breaking this pairing up was always going to be a tall task for anyone coming in. Mosquera has been excellent for Arsenal so far, but even he is unlikely to dislodge either player from the starting eleven consistently.
Speaking to AS for the Spanish newspaper’s Friday morning edition, the 21-year-old provided some insight into his thought process when signing to compete with Saliba and Gabriel.
“I feel great at the club and in the city,” he said.
“From the first moment [Mikel] Arteta spoke to me, I had no doubts about going to Arsenal. There’s an incredible group of players. Plus, there are a lot of Spanish speakers who have helped me adapt.
“When I signed, I knew I was going to face them [Gabriel and Saliba], two world-class stars, but that was the club’s idea: to have players competing for every position to go as far as possible.”
Cristhian Mosquera will have ample opportunity to impress
Mosquera has already made eight appearances and played 445 minutes for Arsenal this season.
Starting against Newcastle and playing almost 90 minutes against Liverpool, the Spain under-21 international is playing an important and prominent role for Mikel Arteta.
This is despite the presence of Saliba and Gabriel, and shows that he will play significant minutes regardless.
All it took for him to get an opportunity was an injury to Saliba, and Arteta will be keen to rotate his starting pair regularly to keep them fresh, meaning Mosquera will play.
Even if his minutes are more limited than he’d hope, he’s still young and will hugely benefit from understudying and learning from two of the world’s best in his position.
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