Arsenal loan Pablo Mari to A.C. Monza

Arsenal have loaned Pablo Mari to A.C. Monza in Serie A, per multiple sources. The Italian club will cover his salary and the agreement has a mandatory buy clause of £5.9M should the Italian side avoid relegation. The Spanish centerback joined the Gunners on loan in January 2020 from Flamengo, which Arsenal made a permanent transfer later that summer.

Mari only made 22 appearances for the Gunners, in part due to fitness. He suffered two significant injuries during his stint in North London. By the time he was fully fit and available, Gabriel Magalhaes had locked-down the left-centerback spot, and Mari was nowhere near good enough to displace him.

It’s hard to feel much of anything about this move. He’s off Arsenal’s books. He was a squad player signed when the club needed warm bodies more than anything else. He had a few alright games and some pretty poor ones. To his credit, it seems like he’s a good dude — his teammates seem to like him.

Mari has two years remaining on his Arsenal deal, so if Monza do not stay up, Arsenal will be in the same place come next summer. If it comes to that, I’m guessing there will again be interested teams in Italy.