Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta heaped praise on Cristhian Mosquera following his solid performance against Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday.
The Gunners suffered a slender 1-0 loss to the Reds at Anfield.
A sensational free-kick from Dominik Szoboszlai decided the game.
Despite the result, there were some positives to carry forward. Mosquera had a brilliant outing after replacing William Saliba in central defence after just five minutes.
The Frenchman had twisted his ankle during the warm-up session.
Speaking after the game, Arteta was delighted with the performance of Mosquera in Saliba’s absence.
He told Arsenal.com: “But thank God we had Mosquera, which we put in for the first time in the Premier League. His debut, not expecting it at Anfield, and I think he was really, really good.”
Mosquera actually made his debut against Leeds United off the bench at the Emirates Stadium, but his first real test came against Arne Slot’s side.
Liverpool tried to high press on the 21-year-old early on, but he looked comfortable in possession and did not feel overawed by the big occasion.
The Valencia graduate completed 92 percent of his passes while winning four out of five duels (80 percent success rate). He made three recoveries alongside two tackles.
Mosquera had a solitary lapse in the second half when he handed a chance to Mohamed Salah. Barring that, it was a fabulous outing for the highly-rated Spaniard.
Arsenal host Nottingham Forest after the international break. Mosquera could be called upon to start alongside Gabriel Magalhaes if Saliba is not deemed fit.
Arsenal could have another solution in Piero Hincapie. The Ecuador international is poised to join from Bayer Leverkusen before tomorrow’s transfer deadline.
Stats from Sofascore.com