Cristhian Mosquera News: Building fitness gradually

Mosquera wasn't on the matchday squad for Sunday's victory against Newcastle in a pre-season friendly as he is still building his fitness, coach Mikel Arteta said in a press conference. "Because he needs to start to pick up the feelings again. He played the under 21 Euros, then he didn't really train with Valencia then that signing period was extended a little bit and the conditions here are really tough and there's a lot of information for him, a lot of physical demands that we put in so we're going to have to manage him slowly."

Mosquera didn't really train with the Valencia team when returning from the U21 EURO Championship and is still building his fitness with his new team. That is the reason why he didn't feature in Sunday's friendly against the Magpies. The defender will hope to be fit for the start of the 2025/26 season, during which he should have a rotation role behind Gabriel and William Saliba in the central defense of Arsenal.