Arsenal complete £13m La Liga signing | OneFootball

Arsenal have signed Cristhian Mosquera from Valencia, with the Gunners agreeing an initial fee of £13m to sign the defender on a long-term contract.

Arsenal sign Cristhian Mosquera (via Arsenal.com)

Arsenal have announced the signing of Cristhian Mosquera from Valencia, bringing in the La Liga defender on a deal worth an initial £13m with an additional £3.5m in add-ons.

Mosquera drew interest from the likes of AFC Bournemouth and Serie A clubs, while Valencia pushed for him to stay and extend his contract.

But the centre-back turned down all the alternatives in favour of this move to Arsenal, travelling to London to complete the formalities of the transfer earlier this month.

Sporting Director Andrea Berta said: “We’re very happy and excited to have signed a hugely talented young player in Cristhian Mosquera. We identified Cristhian as one of the strongest young defenders in European football, and he is an important signing for our future.

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“Cristhian is a versatile defender who will strengthen our squad. We cannot wait to see him playing for us. Together with everyone at the club, we warmly welcome Cristhian and his family to Arsenal.”Manager Mikel Arteta added: “We’re delighted to welcome Cristhian to Arsenal. As a 21-year-old defender, Cristhian has already performed consistently well with significant experience in La Liga. He is an intelligent player with good pace, who can play centrally and on both sides.“He is a young player with exciting talent and enormous potential, who will fit well into our squad as we continue to prepare for next season. Cristhian adds good quality to our squad, and we look forward to working with him and making him feel at home with us.“From all of us, we welcome Cristhian and his family to the club.”

21-year-old Mosquera made 41 appearances for Valencia in 2024/25, and he’s even made his debut for the Spanish national team. Over the summer, he dropped back to the u21s to play at the European Championships.

He said of the move, ““It means a lot to me. There’s been a lot of hard work behind all of this.

“It’s an opportunity that came up and I couldn’t let it pass me by. I’m joining a historic, massive club. When you arrive here with your family, you really feel the greatness of this place.

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“It’s true my career has moved faster than expected and I’ve had to mature fast. Coming here is a chance to keep learning and improving. I’ll be working with great players and a top-class coaching staff, so that will help me develop personally.

“I’m a player with a lot of energy. I’m young, so I still have plenty to give. I’m fully motivated and excited. Above all, I want to improve, which will create competition within the squad. I’m really happy.”

Mosquera will count as an u21 player in the Premier League squad lists this season, meaning he won’t use up a non-homegrown spot domestically.

However, in UEFA competition you have to be at a club for two seasons before you’re allowed on the u21 list. Mosquera will have to be included as a non-homegrown senior player in the Champions League.

The centre-back was in the final year of his deal with Valencia, which helped Arsenal to get a cut-price agreement.

He will wear the number 3 shirt.