ARSENAL defender Pablo Mari has opened up on his whirlwind transfer to the Emirates, coronavirus lockdown and his flop spell at Manchester City were he didn’t play a single game.
The 26-year-old is set to become Mikel Arteta’s first permanent signing and he hopes to leave a legacy in North London after spending much of his career on the move.
Pablo Mari hopes to stay at Arsenal for many years
The Spaniard left home at 13 to join Mallorca’s youth set-up before moving to Gimnastic and then Manchester City in 2016, where he never actually met boss Pep Guardiola or the first team aces.
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He was then shipped out on loan to three clubs before settling at Flamengo last year – where won the Libertadores at the Maracana.
In an interview with the Guardian he said: “You go [to the City Campus] for medicals each year – blood tests, urine, scans.
“But when I went to the Netherlands and Coruña the [City] first team hadn’t started pre-season, so there was no one there. You never cross paths.
“That can feel a bit strange, but City were transparent. The plan was always to go on loan.”
The defender’s scintillating form in Brazil soon had Arsenal sniffing round for a potential swoop in the last transfer window.
Mari’s arrival at the Emirates is his fourth loan deal in four seasons and his eighth club in seven years but the Spaniard is determined to stay with the Gunners for the long haul.
The defender had featured just once in the Premier League and in the FA Cup before coronavirus KO’d English football indefinitely.
Mari added: “At first, part of you thinks, ‘Jeez,’ I finally got here, then had to leave again after two days to finish negotiating the contract, came back, it was hard to get going,
“I hadn’t done pre-season while everyone had been competing seven months. Bit by bit you get through the days, the weeks, and the moment you say ‘I’m ready, I can compete’, this happens.
“The first thought was, ‘Damn, I wanted to keep playing.’ But this is no small thing, it’s not a cold or flu.
“When you see its magnitude, professional questions are secondary. What matters is everyone’s health.”
In two appearances Mari had bagged two victories and two clean sheets before the Gunners were forced to self-isolate following their Europa League tie with Olympiacos.
The Greek club’s owner Evangelos Marinaki, was struck by the killer virus – and boss Mikel Arteta fell unwell shortly after the clash.
Mari added: “We’ll never know if [Marinakis] was the reason, if the manager caught it somewhere else, but from that moment we were in quarantine.
“At first we were very scared, hoping he would be OK, that nothing would happen to him or affect his family,
“Things calmed. I think none of the team had the virus. We didn’t do tests, we did 15 days at home, and no one had [symptoms].”
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Mari is in lockdown with his family in their London home which they had just moved in to, meaning they have barely any furniture.
But Gunners aces were back in training on Monday after 47 days away.
He said: “We had only been in the house two weeks.
“The club gave me an exercise bike, gym equipment and some weights, so that I could work. But we were caught out, we had hardly anything at home.
“The little one, poor thing, has hardly any toys to play with. We were inventing things to do with him, cook cakes, paint. But the most important thing was that everyone was at home and healthy.”
The Gunners look set to turn Pablo Mari’s loan move from Flamengo into a £10million permanent deal.
The Emirates newbie said: “My moment has arrived. The chance to sign for four years, an opportunity I think I’ve earned. It’s time.
“I’d like to be part of that, a great footballer for many years for Arsenal.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
