Arsenal defender Cristhian Mosquera has been very impressed with what he has seen from Viktor Gyokeres.

Asked for his thoughts on the Swedish international in an interview, Mosquera said that Gyokeres is a handful when he goes up against him in training:

“He is a beast, an animal! Training with him helps defenders improve. There were great players at Valencia, but training with this type of top-level footballer is a big leap.”

Both Mosquera and Gyokeres arrived at the Emirates within a couple of days of each other, but it is fair to say they’ve had contrasting starts to life in the Premier League.

Gyokeres has had a pretty slow start

While the 27-year-old hasn’t necessarily struggled per se, the forward has found it tough in some of the London club’s most high-profile fixtures.

Gyokeres was used to scoring week in, week out for Sporting Lisbon but he has only scored in two games for his new team so far, bagging a brace against Leeds and another goal versus Nottingham Forest.

Despite the Gunners having already faced the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City, he hasn’t been able to make much of an impression in those matches.

Mosquera looks ready to step into Arsenal’s starting lineup

While Gyokeres is taking his time to get going, things are somewhat different for his fellow new arrival. Mosquera has caught the eye whenever he has featured for the Gunners this season.

William Saliba’s injury against Liverpool gave the Spanish international a run in the side, and he has not let anyone down when called upon.

Mosquera has been extremely solid, barring a slightly dodgy first 45 minutes versus Newcastle, and manager Mikel Arteta is certainly not afraid to start him in the biggest games.

Read more about the Arsenal First Team Squad for 2025/26 here