Cristhian Mosquera emulates Ashley Cole as Arsenal confirm £13.1m transfer and shirt number

Arsenal have confirmed the arrival of Spain Under-21 international defender Cristhian Mosquera on a long-term contract from Valencia.

The 2004-born centre-back - who can also play as a right-back - joins the Gunners for an initial €15m (£13.1m) fee and is already in Singapore gelling with his new teammates on their pre-season tour.

Mosquera was given the green light to fly out to Asia on Tuesday, shortly after an image of him doing his first Arsenal interview was leaked online in the wake of the Noni Madueke announcement.

Mosquera was also pictured alongside Martin Zubimendi, Kepa Arrizabalaga and David Raya by a fan earlier on Thursday, and Arsenal have now belatedly confirmed the arrival of the 21-year-old prospect.

Speaking to arsenal.com for the first time, Mosquera said: "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.

Mikel Arteta hails Mosquera's "enormous potential" as Arsenal transfer confirmed

The next step ✍️ pic.twitter.com/1AdNVcIS8G
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) July 24, 2025

"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."

Meanwhile, Gunners boss Arteta hailed Mosquera as a versatile defender with "enormous potential", saying: "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."

Having already touched down in Singapore, Mosquera could make his Arsenal debut against Newcastle United on Sunday, four days on from his new club's opening 1-0 success over AC Milan.

Mosquera inherits Ashley Cole shirt number at Arsenal

Despite being a relatively unknown quantity until a couple of years ago, Mosquera has already inherited a historic shirt number at the Emirates Stadium; he will sport the '3' for the three-time Premier League winners.

The 21-year-old follows a long line of noteworthy defenders to sport that shirt for Arsenal, including two-time Premier League winner Ashley Cole, who was in possession of the '3' from 2000 to 2006.

Lee Dixon and Nigel Winterburn also donned the number three jersey during the early 1990s, and the shirt has more recently been worn by Bacary Sagna, Kieran Gibbs and Kieran Tierney.

While the '3' has been traditionally sported by full-backs at Arsenal, Mosquera is expected to operate centrally in Arteta's system, providing cover and competition for both Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba.