The sun shines like rarely in north London and the ‘Gunners’ players parade through the training center in a few days of great tension. The Premier League and Champions are at stake. The last one to leave is Cristhian Mosquera. “Long day, huh?” they tell him. “You see,” responds the footballer, one of the additions of Mikel Arteta this season and one of the players who, due to his versatility, is already essential in this team.
The Spanish defender, already international with the senior team, analyzes in this interview with EFE his season in Arsenalthe semi-finals against Atlético de Madrid, the battle for the Premier.
Question: It is a privilege to arrive at this season with two titles at stake.
Answer: Yes of course. Obviously, at a club like Arsenal we would have liked to be alive in all four competitions, but it is clear that we have two big titles left to fight for and we are going for it.
Q: How do you deal with the emotions of these final matches? The fear of losing, the excitement of winning…
R. The noise always comes more from outside than from inside. We are calm, we are going to do what depends on us. We are going to fight it and we are very excited to have these options.
Q. What has it been like for you to arrive at Arsenal and be part of one of the best defenses in the Premier League and Europe?
R. It’s a privilege. I have arrived at a club where it is seen that defense is a fundamental part of this team and sharing training and games with the teammates I have here is a privilege. I learn a lot from them every day and always try to improve. It is a pride, yes.
Q. You know him a lot from his time at Valencia. What needs to be done to beat Atlético de Madrid?
R. This year we already had a confrontation and came out victorious. Simeone’s teams have always been very warlike teams, very fighting, leaving everything on the field. It’s something we know. We know that we will go there to Madrid and they will come to London and they will leave everything to them. We will put that and more.
Q. Is there any way to prepare to stop a footballer as special as Julián Álvarez?
R. Atlético has many great players, of great quality, and Julián is one of them. He is a special forward, but we focus on the team, on Atlético. It is obvious that a Julián can make a difference, but we are a very solid team, we will be together, we will work like no one else.
Q. Is an injured Atlético de Madrid more dangerous after losing a final?
R. Ugh, I don’t know what to tell you. It is true that when you lose you come with that feeling of having lost, with not so good feelings, but at the same time you have the ambition of wanting to change the dynamic. Their dynamics in recent games have not been so good, but we cannot focus on that. We have to focus on ourselves, on working, on a day-to-day basis and on preparing for this game.
Q. Who has the advantage, Atlético de Madrid that can rest in La Liga or Arsenal that cannot lower the competitive pressure in the Premier?
R. The calendar has become like this, today’s football is like this, there are more and more games, more competitions, and we have no choice but to adapt. But we also like it, because if you have so many matches it means that you are still alive in several competitions and we have to take that as an opportunity.
Q. What surprised you about Arteta when he arrived?
R. He is a pretty close coach. He is someone who squeezes you out, who brings out the best in you. It is going very well for me, because I am feeling increasingly a better footballer here and a better teammate. Because when you are not there you have a supporting role and in our team it is something that can be seen as one of the keys. The people who come off the bench and give you victory is one of the things that makes you get to where we are.
Q. Arsenal are going to be judged throughout the season by what happens in two or three games. If they win and the Premier is achieved, success, if not, failure. Is it fair?
R. I don’t know if it’s fair or not, but we’re not going to deal with that fear of ‘what will happen if we don’t get it?’ or what will people think?’ We can only focus on what depends on us and think about the game by game. It’s what we’ve done all season and what we’re going to do until the end.
“I have to win the World Cup with sacrifice”
“To get to the World Cup there is still a little way to go and to know if I am on the list as well. Working day by day at my club is what will make me be there and have a chance of being called up by Luis (De la Fuente). I am taking it with great enthusiasm and I am going to work for it and earn it with sacrifice,” said Mosquera in an interview for EFE in which he underlined his enthusiasm for the possibility of attending the World Cup event.
