When Mikel Arteta spots an opportunity to get in the good books of a talented young player, he will seldom let it pass by. Even during the contract signing ceremony of Arsenal’s newest signing, Cristhian Mosquera, the Gunners boss produced a comical moment which could also help him secure a promising prospect.
Mosquera was unveiled by his new club on Thursday, with Arsenal completing a £13million deal to sign the 21-year-old defender from Valencia. It was an emotional affair when the Spanish youth international turned up with his family to sign a five-year contract, flanked by Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta.
While Mosquera’s father was overcome with emotion, his younger brother, who himself is a capable footballer, was watching on calmly from behind the table on which Arsenal’s new boy put pen to paper.
Arteta then interrupted a chat between Mosquera and Berta to pay a compliment to the defender’s fresh-faced sibling, as he grabbed the pen and said: “Let’s take [a picture] of your brother so you can see him in the photo! For the future, he is very good!”
Whether the youngster goes on to follow in the footsteps of his older brother remains to be seen. For now, Arteta has more pressing matters to attend to, such as phasing Mosquera into a brand new group of players.
The centre-back may have a tough time earning first-team minutes ahead of the established partnership of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes. But he says that getting better will be his main motivation during the bedding-in process.
“Coming here is a chance to keep learning and improving,” Mosquera told the Arsenal website. “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.”
Arteta, whose players are in the midst of a pre-season tour in Asia, wants to integrate his new signings as soon as possible.
“With Noni [Madueke] it wasn’t possible because he needed some time [after the Club World Cup] and he’s going to take a short vacation. But the others, if we can do it immediately, I think it’s better, so they can start to join the team, get to know each other and get the ideas that we want to put in the mix.”