Morning, happy Friday folks.
Arsenal yesterday officially announced the signing of Valencia defender Cristhian Mosquera. I know I’ll get used to his first name in time, but every time I write it at the moment my brain screams TYPO! The 21 year old arrives for a fee of around €15m, with potential add-ons increasing that, and on paper it’s a move that makes a lot of sense.
We need someone to provide cover/depth for William Saliba who was asked to play far too many minutes last season. Mosquera can take some of that burden off him, and his ability to play on both sides of central defence is useful too. Mikel Arteta says:
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.
While the player himself spoke about making the jump from Spain to the Premier League, saying:
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.
He is young, but over the last couple of years has garnered plenty of top-flight experience. Since making his breakthrough he’s become almost ever-present for Valencia, and as Phil points out in his profile piece, ‘He has started 70 league games out of a possible 72 – playing more minutes than any other U21 player across Europe in that period; and nearly 1000 more minutes than his nearest competitor Guillame Restes (who is a goalkeeper).‘
There may well be a period of adaptation, but he’s got plenty of Spanish speakers in the squad to help him settle in, and I’m sure he’ll be working on his English too. So, all in all a sensible signing but one we really needed too. It’s very hard to not pick Saliba because he’s so good, but last season Arteta didn’t really have an option available to him. He has that now, and as we’ve observed before, this season is about using and trusting in the full depth of the squad so let’s see how it goes.
For more on the player, Phil’s profile piece is here, and as ever with new signings we have a podcast all about him for our Patreon members here.
Meanwhile, Declan Rice has backed the signing of Noni Madueke and what the player can bring to the team, while commenting on some of the more extreme reaction to the deal that played out online. In The Athletic (£) with James, he said:
“I didn’t like it, if I’m speaking honestly. But I know how driven he is. I’ve spoken to him and you’re going to see what he’s about this season. As football players, and players that have played with him, we know the quality he has. He’s so driven, and he’s proven. He wants to prove, and show everyone, what he can do and I think you’re going to see that. There’s a hunger inside his belly.”
Let’s hope that hunger is evident in his performances and what he can bring to the team in terms of goals and assists. That’s what we need from a big signing, which is what he is for the price he paid. It’s also interesting to hear one of our players acknowledge they’re aware of what happens online, particularly when it gets as extreme with nonsense like petitions and the like. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but there are ways of expressing it that don’t have to cross any lines. Also worth noting, Madueke has been reclassified as a homegrown player, which is probably handy if there is more business to do this summer.
As for himself, Rice says of the new season:
I’m putting really big demands on myself this year. I’m trying to push myself because, the back-end of the season, I finished strong. At the start of the season last year, I was nowhere near the level that I require of myself. It took me a few months to get going again. But now I’m getting a full pre-season, I feel really fit, strong, and I’m going to try and kick off the season strong.
He is a key player for us, and it’s understandable the start of last season was a bit below par, given the demands placed on him at the Euros etc. We need our best players to start strongly this season given how difficult the fixture list is, and he’s one of them. It certainly sounds like he’s ready to go, so fingers crossed.
Finally, out here in Singapore last night we saw the Alexander Isak news, and it sparked some conversation, for sure. If you haven’t seen, he’s asked to leave Newcastle, and it seems unthinkable that a player would do that without knowing there’s a nailed-on destination for him. It doesn’t look like Liverpool given their outlay so far, and it’s hard to see how Arsenal could do it without calling off the Viktor Gyokeres deal at the 11th hour, but we know he’s the player who topped the list of strikers we’d like to sign if we could. Beyond that, Chelsea? It doesn’t really fit their recruitment policy of buying young, but it does fit their ‘Lets just buy everyone’ policy. I’m curious to see how this one plays out.
Right, I’ll leave it there for this morning. There’s an Arsecast Extra below if you haven’t had a chance to listen yet. For now, have a good one!
