Mendoza’s playing style has drawn natural comparisons to Barcelona star Pedri. He is not yet at that level, but the raw materials are unmistakable. His elite technical poise and spatial awareness has helped him become the beating heart of Elche’s midfield. For Arsenal, the tactical picture is enticing. He is a teammate of summer signing Cristhian Mosquera at the Spain Under-21 level, adding familiarity to the equation.
Interest from Arsenal comes at a time when the club’s trajectory under Mikel Arteta continues its steep upward climb. The Gunners’ emphatic 3-1 win over Bayern Munich this week in the Champions League only reinforced their status as one of Europe’s most complete sides. Arteta could barely hide his pride after the match, praising his team’s "presence, authority and belief" against what he considers the best team in Europe. It marked the club’s first win against Bayern in ten years and extended their perfect Champions League record to five wins in five games.
"Well, I'm extremely proud to what I've seen tonight," he said. "I think, we've seen a team that, in my opinion, playing against the best team in Europe has behaved with a real presence, authority, determination, and belief, and that's what I wanted. You need some huge performance individually. We certainly had that. We took our moments, and I think overall, we just have to win the game."
Although Arsenal are being linked with Mendoza, Arteta insisted that he is "happy" with the current squad depth.
"Yes. I mean, everybody's ready. Whether it's a starter and a finisher, the impact that the boys are having is tremendous because we have dealt with a lot of injuries, this season already," he said. "But, the fact that everybody's raising the level is hiding a lot of those issues, and I'm very pleased because, everybody's important. We're gonna need them, and I'm happy that the ones that even given the chance, they're constantly taking it."
Asked whether Arsenal should now be considered favourites for the competition, Arteta was cautious but firm: "What I'm really pleased with my players is that we do what we have to do, which is try to be better every single day, perform at the highest level consistently, and win a lot of games, and we need to continue to that."