Arsenal have confirmed Cristhian Mosquera’s shirt number after finally announcing their fifth signing of the summer transfer window.
Mosquera joins Arsenal from LaLiga outfit Valencia for a fee of around £13million (€15million). He has signed a five-year contract with the north London outfit, with an option to extend by a further 12 months.
The young defender will provide competition and cover to the Gunners’ defensive department which already includes the likes of William Saliba, Gabriel, Ben White, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori.
This deal has been somewhat of a worst kept secret as the club accidentally confirmed the signing during the announcement of Noni Madueke’s arrival last Friday as they inadvertently unveiled Mosquera in an Arsenal kit.
The image, which was quickly deleted from Getty Images, showed Mosquera being interviewed by a member of Arsenal staff, seemingly during his traditional welcome interview for fans.
Nevertheless, the 21-year-old is officially an Arsenal player and he has been handed the No3 shirt at the Emirates Stadium. This shirt number has not been vacant for too long as Kieran Tierney wore it on the last day of the 2024-25 season prior to rejoining Celtic in a free transfer.
Kieran Gibbs, Bacary Sagna, Ashley Cole and Nigel Winterburn are among the previous owners of the Arsenal No3 shirt, meaning Mosquera has some big shoes to fill.
Mosquera had worn No3 for Valencia across the last two seasons and it’s also his shirt number for the Spain U21 national team.
Fellow Spanish summer signings Kepa Arrizabalaga and Martin Zubimendi opted for No13 and No36 respectively after completing their moves.
Arsenal’s summer business is expected to continue as Mikel Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta target several other key additions, including the signing of a top new winger and striker.
The Gunners are on course to sign Viktor Gyokeres after a breakthrough in negotiations with Sporting, while Eberechi Eze, Rodrygo and Anthony Gordon continue to be linked.