Under-The-Radar Summer Signing Making A Big Difference For Arsenal

LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 13: Cristhian Mosquera of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Nottingham Forest at Emirates Stadium on September 13, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

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There wasn’t much fanfare around the arrival of Cristhian Mosquera over the summer. He wasn’t a big name like Eberechi Eze, Viktor Gyokeres or Martin Zubimendi. Most expected that the young defender had been signed to develop and improve over the coming seasons. Mosquera, however, has made an immediate impact.

He’s had to. Arsenal have needed Mosquera to hit the ground running such is the number of injuries it has sustained over the early part of the 2025/26 season. Gabriel Magalhaes has missed a handful of matches while William Saliba came off injured in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.

Mosquera was introduced off the bench and was solid enough to get Arsenal over the line in the game, keeping the Gunners top of the Premier League table. It’s a role that the 21-year-old has embraced with Mosquera making a bigger difference than most envisaged he would when he left Valencia for North London.

“I feel great at the club and in the city,” said Mosquera when asked about his summer switch to Arsenal. “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.”

Much of Arsenal’s summer transfer strategy was about adding depth to its squad. This has allowed the Gunners to keep moving forward even as injuries have hit them hard. Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Saliba have all faced spells on the sidelines. In previous seasons, that would have stopped Arteta’s team in its tracks.

This season, though, it’s been a different story. Arsenal is sitting four points clear at the top of the Premier League table amid a growing sense that this might be its season. Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City are all struggling to find consistent form while the Gunners are on a seven-game winning streak in all competitions.

Arteta deserves a lot of credit for the way he has remoulded the North London club in his own image. The Spaniard has faced criticism over the course of his six years in charge, but Arsenal is now a team that can play a certain way no matter which players are on the pitch. Mosquera and the impact he has made is proof of this.