Pablo Mari, currently playing for Udinese on loan from Arsenal, has made it clear he would like to stay in Italy permanently.
Having joined the Gunners from Flamenco in the summer of 2020, Mari was expected to play a significant role in strengthening their shaky defence. He started well enough in North London, but it soon became clear he wasn’t going to be the proper difference maker manager Mikel Arteta had hoped he was getting. A year later, big money was spent on the signing of Ben White from Brighton and Hove Albion, and the England international quickly became an important part of the back line alongside Gabriel Magalhaes.
Mari started the first two Premier League matches of the season, but that was it as far as his involvement went before leaving for Italy in search of regular game-time. With two years left on his Arsenal contract, he says he would like to stay at Udinese where he’s happy, but with no option to buy included in the original loan deal, the two clubs would have to sit down and discuss the terms of a potential transfer from scratch.
“I’d like to stay in Serie A next season,” Mari told Gazzetta dello Sport. “I’m under contract until June 2024 with Arsenal – but I’m so happy here at Udinese.”
The 28-year-old centre-back has had a rather turbulent career so far. Before joining Arsenal, he moved between an unusually large number of clubs. He started out at Mallorca and played a while for Gimnastic, signing eventually for Manchester City. However, he never made a single competitive appearance for the current Premier League champions.
Instead, he was sent out on a number of loans, and eventually went to Brazil to join Flamengo.
