Arsenal FC player ratings vs Liverpool: Cristhian Mosquera steps up but Gabriel Martinelli struggles | The Standard
Arsenal faced their first defeat of the Premier League on Sunday as Liverpool edged them 1-0 at Anfield, courtesy of a stunning free-kick by Dominik Szoboszlai in the 83rd minute.
The Gunners defended extremely well but were undone by a stroke of art by the opponent’s makeshift right back, although they did employ the inexperienced Cristhian Mosquera after William Saliba picked up an injury.
In spite of being fully fit before the game and starting, the Frenchman pulled up within five minutes of kick-off and had to be replaced by Mosquera, who made his Premier League debut after joining Arsenal from Valencia this summer.
Mikel Arteta, in spite of the defeat, was happy with the 21-year-old’s display as he said (h/t Arsenal’s official website in the post-match press conference),
“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 a handy long-term investment
Cristhian Mosquera is a very good long-term investment for Arsenal and displayed glimpses of his quality against Liverpool with a 92% passing accuracy and nine defensive contributions, which kept the in-form Hugo Ekitike largely at bay.
It will be interesting to see how his role in the first-team materialises in the near future, however, with Piero Hincapie also joining from Bayer Leverkusen. The Ecuadorian’s experience will surely hold him in higher stead in the team than Mosquera, for now.
That said, Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba are still expected to be Mikel Arteta’s preferred pairing in the heart of defence, so Hincapie and Mosquera might become the back-up pairing, which may start to be used sooner rather than later.
Once the international break ends, Arsenal will start their Champions League campaign as well, and therefore, it will be interesting to see how the backline is rotated with two quality options available off the bench for the Gunners’ coach.