Arsenal finalized the 21-year-old defender, known as the strongest defender in single defense in La Liga

On July 15, Premier League giants Arsenal completed the lineup upgrade again and successfully introduced young central defender Moscarat from La Liga Valencia. The 21-year-old defender who is known as the strongest one-on-one defense in La Liga, is regarded as a key puzzle to increase the thickness of Arsenal's defense.

Arsenal has had the best Premier League defensive record in the past two seasons, conceding at least 15 fewer goals than second place (a total of 63 goals). However, the reality of being second in the league for three consecutive years and not winning any results has prompted coach Arteta to seek a breakthrough. Although the overall defense line is stable, the gap in substitute strength behind the main central defender Saliba and Gabriel has become a potential hidden danger.

Saliba was seriously injured in the sprint stage of the 2022-23 season, causing the championship to collapse. During Gabriel's absence at the end of the 2024-25 season, the team was significantly affected on both offense and defense. Data shows that in the 13 key Premier League and Champions League games after Gabriel was injured, Arsenal only scored through corner kicks against the relegation team, which is in sharp contrast to the efficiency of 11 corner kicks in the previous 39 games.

In view of the difficulty in directly upgrading the two world-class main central defenders, Arsenal has turned its attention to potential new stars. Moscra became the preferred target. Although the Spanish U21 international is only 21 years old, he has accumulated complete experience in La Liga in two seasons and is competent for both sides of the central defender and right back position. His arrival is not only aimed at the future, but also aims to allow Arteta to rotate Saliba and Gabriel more calmly to reduce the risk of core injuries.

Moscra made his debut in Valencia at the age of 17 and has been firmly in the main force since the 2023-24 season. In the past two seasons, he has ranked first in all players under the age of 21 in the five major European leagues, including appearances (73 games), starters (70 games) and playing time (6394 minutes), far surpassing talents of the same age such as Douai, Savigno and Yamal.

Moscarra is 1.88 meters tall, and the air confrontation is his weakness (the success rate last season is only 51.4%, and the level of the downstream of the La Liga central defender), but his one-on-one defense ability is top-notch. Last season, among all 195 players who tried more than 50 "real steals" (including successful steals, failed steals and fouls), Moscarra's success rate was as high as 76.7%, the championship. This data is even better than Arsenal's core Saliba (79.5%, second in the Premier League). Arteta favors such defenders who are tough and difficult to pass, and Moscrat has a high quality of qualities.

Moskara's pass success rate has increased year by year, from 88.6% in the first quarter to 91.2%. Among the top 20 players in La Liga pass success rate in the 2024-25 season, he is the only player who plays for a team with a ball possession rate that is not the top 7 teams. Its passing style focuses on safety and short passes, with a forward pass ratio of only 3.8%, and has not created a single opportunity in all 2,048 passes. However, he is good at pushing with the ball. Last season, he completed 503 dribbling propulsions (moving at least 5 meters towards the opponent's goal), of which 286 were effective forward advances, ranking 7th in both statistics (the top 6 were from teams with higher ball possession rates).

Moscarra, who is only 21 years old, still has room for improvement, and her passing vision and aerial ability need to be strengthened. After joining Arsenal, training at a higher level of environment is expected to accelerate its growth. This signing undoubtedly injects a strong shot into Arsenal's defense, and its outstanding strength may also bring long-lost competitive pressure to the main central defender position. Perhaps, the strongest shield in the Premier League will become more unbreakable.