Arsenal brought in Pablo Mari on a long deal during the January transfer window and it looks like the Gunners want to hold onto him – as per reports.
Mari arrived at Arsenal in the last week of January from Brazilian side Flamengo and so far, the left-sided central defender has managed to feature in one only Premier League game before the games were suspended.
The player though has made his intentions of remaining at Arsenal beyond the summer pretty clear by telling reporters: “I am so happy here.
“I am going to try and do my best until the end of the season. I hope also the club is happy with me and then we are going to find a good end (of the season) for everybody. I want to play a lot of years here with Arsenal. It is another situation and I am really happy now.”
It seems Mikel Arteta is more than happy with the player’s ability which is why the Gunners are planning to activate the £10 million release clause which will make him a permanent part of the Emirates squad next season.
Athletic’s David Ornstein said: “I understand it’s very likely they’ll make the loan deal for Pablo Mari into a permanent deal for around £10m.”
"I understand it’s very likely they’ll make the loan deal for Pablo Mari into a permanent deal for around £10m."@David_Ornstein provides the latest on Arsenal's pending transfer business.
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Will Pablo Mari be a success at Arsenal?
The player is relatively untested in English soil so clearly Mikel Arteta has chosen to take a gamble primarily from what he has seen on the training grounds.
But he did feature for Flamengo in the Club World Cup last year and there he made a pretty good account of himself especially against Liverpool in the final.
The likes of Sokratis and Shkodran Mustafi have been really poor for Arsenal at the back this season and one of Arteta’s biggest focus right now is to reshape his defensive line. And with the permanent move for Pablo Mari, things are surely going in the right direction for the North London side.
Arsenal are also set to welcome William Saliba this summer and we have a feeling the Frenchman along with Mari can be a recipe for success at the Emirates next season.
