Pablo Mari joins Arsenal on loan

Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Pablo Mari from Flamengo on a loan deal until the end of the season with an option to buy.

The Spaniard is a former Manchester City player, joining in 2016 before heading to the Brazilian league in summer of 2019, however, he did not manage to get any appearances to his name, instead he spent his time on loans at Girona, NAC Breda and Deportivo La Coruna.

Despite only joining in July 2019, the defender was deeply appreciated by the Flamengo supporters after winning  a league title and more importantly the Copa Libertadores, in other words, the South American Champions League. A special tribute was made for him on the club’s Twitter page. The words translated to:

“The time has come for us to say goodbye to this defender who came to Flamengo to make his mark on our history with the titles of the Copa Libertadores and the Brazilian Championship. Pablo Mari, thank you for everything.”

He will also become Mikel Arteta’s first signing, at the age of 26 Pablo Mari is expect to bring experience and depth with defenders Shkodran Mustafi, Calum Chambers, Kieran Tierney and Sead Kolasinac all ruled out due to injuries.

The Gunners’ fans will look forward to seeing Mari increase the number of clean sheets. An area Arteta’s men are currently struggling in, managing to only keep two of them in the last 10 games.

To make matters worse, their defensive record cancels the offensive efforts; Arsenal scored 32 goals yet conceded 34 in the Premier League this season.