Pablo Mari could return to Spain this month, with the Arsenal defender reportedly offered to La Liga giants Valencia as an escape route from the Emirates.
According to Goal Brazil, Pablo Mari could be moving away from Arsenal, with the Spanish defender offered around to several clubs, including La Liga outfit Valencia.
Pablo Mari was considered a signing to plug some gaps in the Arsenal backline, as he became one of the first faces to arrive at the Emirates following Mikel Arteta’s appointment two years ago. Despite playing a fair share of games under the Gunners’ manager, the former Flamengo defender is no longer considered important in the squad.
After some sub-par performances earlier in the season, Arteta has been reluctant to pick the Spanish defender for games even of less importance, such as the EFL Cup games. Despite Mari’s availability for Arsenal’s recent FA Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest, Arteta decided to pick first-team regular Ben White for the clash.
While Mari had been convinced of leaving the club well before the January window opened, the recent non-selection might have confirmed the end of his Arsenal tenure. There are plenty of clubs willing to sign the centre-back this month, with AC Milan one of the high profile outfits interested in making a move.
Despite reports of a return to Brazil surfacing back in November, Mari is uninterested in going back to the country. The Spaniard wants to continue playing in Europe and believes in competing at the highest levels in the continent.
As a result, the out-of-favour Arsenal defender has now been linked with a move to Valencia. The La Liga giants are looking at bargain options in the market to strengthen many areas of their squad. They might look to sign the centre-back if they can agree on a reasonable deal with Arsenal and the player himself.
Arsenal are open to letting Mari leave in the ongoing transfer window. Despite Arteta having a limited number of central defenders in his ranks, he is seemingly is content with the options at hand. So far, the Gunners have not been linked with new defenders, despite their decision to let the player leave.
Arsenal are prepared to trim their squad even more this month, having let Ainsley Maitland-Niles join Roma on loan last week. A few of their out-of-favour strikers, including Eddie Nketiah and Folarin Balogun, could also depart the Emirates. At the same time, full-backs Sead Kolasinac and Cedric Soares might also leave in the ongoing window.
