Arsenal are close to completing their fourth January departure from the squad. According to reports, the North London club have agreed on a loan deal with Udinese for Pablo Mari until the end of the season.
To make space for new signings this window, Arsenal are first concentrating on exits from their squad. First, they finalised Ainsley Maitland-Niles loan deal to Roma, and then Folarin Balogun was off to the Championship, in a loan deal to Middlesbrough.
Marseille announced the signing of Sead Kolasinac today after Arsenal terminated the Bosnian defender’s contract with mutual consent. Now, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano (via Daily Cannon), Pablo Mari leaves the club to join Udinese on loan for the rest of the season.
Romano added that the deal does not include any buy option. He could arrive in Italy as early as this week to undergo his medical and the club can officially announce the deal. The transfer guru also mentioned that the Spanish defender turned down proposals from South America to play in Europe. The deal got finalised within a week of negotiations among the clubs and the player.
Pablo Marí deal completed between Arsenal and Udinese. Straight loan until June, no buy option – he’ll arrive in Italy this week to undergo his medical. ⚪️🤝 #AFC
Marí turned down proposals from South America to stay in Europe. Udinese have also signed Benkovic from Leicester. pic.twitter.com/Q6JKyCkwD5
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 17, 2022
Pablo Mari first arrived at the Emirates in January 2020, on a loan deal from Brazilian club Flamengo. He played just three games for Arsenal that season, as he got injured in his second league game against Manchester City. However, the club still bought the 28-year-old defender permanently in the summer transfer window, paying a fee of £6.8million upfront.
Mari returned to action after his injury in late November 2020. The Spanish defender featured in 10 Premier League games and five Europa League games last season, including both the semi-finals against the eventual winners Villarreal.
However, after starting and playing full 90 minutes in the first two Premier League games this season, he seems to have fallen out of favour. Mari last played a game in September, against AFC Wimbledon in the EFL Cup. The Spanish defender has played a total of just 270 minutes this season.
Read More:
- Sign of Progress For Mikel Arteta’s Men as Pep Guardiola Acknowledges Arsenal as the “Most Difficult” Opponent
- Striker to Stay Put at Arsenal as Confirmed by Mikel Arteta
- Granit Xhaka: The Teflon Swiss Midfielder Divides and Conquers at Arsenal
Clearly, the 28-year-old has had very less amount of game time at the Emirates. Various reports suggested Mari should have played against Tottenham at right-back in the postponed North London derby this weekend. However, the defender is now off to play in Italy and hopefully gets some good game-time.
Arsenal will hope that with Pablo Mari moving to Udinese, they can finalise their two primary signings, a midfielder and a forward. The January window is approaching its conclusion and it would not be wise to wait till the end to complete important deals.
Stay tuned for the Latest Transfer Updates on Arsenal.
