One of the best indicators of the quality of Crithian Mosquera can be found in the large number of minutes he played. Since he was set up in the Valencia team at the age of 19 in August 2023, he has started 70 league games on a possible 72.
In probably the most challenging position on the field tactically, and with all the pressure to play for one of the largest clubs in Spain while navigating in a turbulent period, the young center-back by two different managers was not enlarged.
His total of 6,394 minutes played in the past two seasons is the highest by everyone aged 21 or younger in Europe's top five competitions. The amount of playing time emphasizes reliability and robustness. It also gave frees such as Arsenal enough to continue.
It was clear that they liked what they saw, and they were not the only ones, with Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig also said they followed him.
The Spain U21 International goes to Arsenal with a reputation as one of the most promising young center-backs in Europe, his appeal increased by a relatively low pricet when he entered the last year of his contract with his Boyhood Club.
He tested himself for some of the world's best attacking players in Laliga, with one striking version against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu in April, when he helped Kylian Mbappe helped Valencia claimed a late 2-1 victory.
He fits the bill as a player with a high potential with both experience and the capacity to develop further. He is right mouse button, but after having played on both sides and even in a rear three, he can be adjusted enough to offer competition to Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba.
His physical qualities are striking. Mosquera has an impressive frame at 6ft 2, but it is also fast and agile, with long legs and a talent for the neat but powerful winning of possession. He rarely commits mistakes and also exists.
There are also areas for improvement. Mosquera had a higher ground-duel success rate than one of the center-back options of Arsenal last season with 70.7 percent. He is an excellent one-on-one defender. But despite his height, he ranked on the other side of the scale for the success of the air duel at 45.2 percent.
He still learns to have only become 21 in June, so it is not surprising that certain elements of his game are still raw.
“He is a player who has shown great potential in a short time,” a former employee of the Scouting and Analysis of Valencia tells Sky Sports. “He became very important to us and wore a lot, despite his age.
“He has to work on some important aspects, such as his decision -making. He is intense and aggressive in the way he defends, but sometimes he has to choose the right moments and understand when it would be better to fall back or hold his position.
“For a competition such as the Premier League, his air games is not great strength, but he is quickly on the cover, in defensive One-VS-one and when decreasing to his own goal.”
Mikel Arteta and his coaches will hope to use the strengths of Mosquera, while he also distinguishes his air game in the same way as his soon to teammate Salibas.
A weakness When he arrived at the club, an area came into force for the French International. Only Ben White had a superior aerial photo than he did with Arsenal defenders in the past term.
Of course, context is the key when it comes to assessing players.
The same source from Valencia states that Mosquera, for example, has had some problems with defending set pieces, but puts them down on a dedication to zonal marking that caused the team problems collectively, in particular under their former manager Ruben Baraja, who was replaced by Carlos Corberan in December.
“The type of zonal marking that he found difficult requires specific tactical principles, such as dominating space, positioning, interpretation of intersection and shooting positions, coordinating with teammates about where their different zones overlap.
“Man-to-man marking requires a different series of principles, things like watching the ball and your opponent, physical contact, coordinating with teammates to exchange opponents, adjust markers, depending on the most dangerous players, blocking runs, identifying runners from outside the box.”
A problem at Valencia may not matter much at Arsenal, in other words. Their favorite hybrid approach, where some players are instructed to defend Zonaal and others are asked to go man-to-man from set pieces, Mosquera should fit better.
Arsenal will also be encouraged by the development of his death.
Mosquera took more responsibility last season in the construction of Valencia, on average more accents and fit per 90 minutes than in the previous campaign. He also sent a higher percentage of the passes and completed a higher percentage in general, with an impressive accuracy percentage of 91.2 percent.
“In terms of playing from the back, he improved a lot with the arrival of Carlos Corberan in Valencia and with his promotion to the U21s of Spain,” adds the source of Valencia.
“He does not have the level of other center backs such as Pau Torres, which are really good at it, but he has reduced the number of errors he made. He offers more fluidity in possession and now has the courage to drive forward to open passing lanes.
“He is not necessarily a player to eliminate opponents by breaking lines with his passes, but he improves. He adds more speed to his death and he doesn't give the ball away so much.”
Just like Christian Norgaard, who will serve as a backup of Martin Zubimendi, and expected additions Viktor Gyokeres and Noni Madueke, who will offer the competition to Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, Mosquera has added to the depth of the depth.
But he also has an exciting potential and, even just 21, sufficient experience behind him to suggest that he could intervene when needed and to keep Saliba and Gabriel sharp.
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From next season, the Premier League coverage of Sky Sports will increase from 128 games to at least 215 games that are exclusively live.
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