Pablo Mari has an eye on a long-term stay with Arsenal and hopes that the end of this season will be a good one for his new club.
The Spaniard has only played for us twice since his loan move from Flamengo yet has notched up two clean sheets, one against Pompey in the cup, and one against West Ham in the league over the weekend.
We have the option to sign the centre-back on a permanent deal over the summer, and despite a slow start to his Arsenal career, the player seems very happy at The Emirates. Mari said:
“I am so happy here. I am going to try and do my best until the end of the season. I hope also the club is happy with me and then we are going to find a good end of season for everybody. I want to play a lot of years here with Arsenal. It is another situation and I am really happy now…”
Mari won a huge haul of silverware at Flamengo after his move from Man City, where he never played a game, yet already looks like a permanent fixture under Mikel Arteta.
He added:
“I want to play in one of the best leagues in the world and I am now here. It is going to be a nice game, but I am really focused here now with Arsenal. I want to win that game…”
Mari also said that he didn’t really meet Arteta at Man City, and you can read the full article here in today’s Independent.
Mari wasn’t in the best shape when he signed for Arsenal and has worked hard alongside the Arsenal backroom boys to get to where he is today, he told the Evening Standard:
“I was on holiday and I was a little bit tired, I played one year and a half continuously, more or less 60 games. So for me it was a little bit hard when I went on holiday and then I came back a little bit not fit really. With the other guys and staff we did really well and I think now I am really fit to play a lot of games…”
We face Manchester City on Wednesday night with no one giving us a chance of getting anything out of the game. It’s a big ask but now would be a REALLY good time to get three valuable points, make a huge statement of intent and put the pressure on the teams above us as we attempt to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
