Arsenal have agreed to sign Flamengo defender Pablo Mari on loan until the end of the season. The deal includes the option of a permanent move for the 26-year-old Spaniard in the summer. Mari won the League and Copa Liberatores (South American Champions League) last Season with the Brazilian Club. Marí, is a 6'4 left-footed CB and is a player Arteta knows well from his time at Manchester City. Personally think its a smart move. If he plays like he did in Brazil we will have a bargain.
Arteta must think Mari has got what it needs to succeed at Arsenal. He's done well in the Brazilian league, but the PL is something altogether different. That said, he's been at City so he knows what he's coming into and there's a good Spanish/South American core at Arsenal that should help him settle in. It will be in straight at the deep end for him. Let's hope he finds his feet quickly at Arsenal
Mikel Arteta in todays press conference: "For me, he is very important, he balances what I want to do from the back line," he said. "It gives us more options, more solutions and opens up the pitch more, and he is a player we have been following in the last few months, and we are really happy to have." This makes me think Arteta needs a left-footer on the left side of defence so we will almost certainly see Mari starting games for us. So will probably be either Luiz or Sokratis on the right.
On talkSPORT their resident Arsenal hater Adrian Durham was saying that is was a great buy and that Marí is a very good player. I know he isn’t normally nice about anything Arsenal, so praise indeed