Arsenal Sign Pablo Mari From Flamengo

English Premier League giants, Arsenal have confirmed the signing of 26-year-old Spanish defender, Pablo Mari, on loan.

Naija News reports that Arsenal were keen to sign a new centre-back before Friday’s transfer deadline after losing Calum Chambers, Kieran Tierney and Shkodran Mustafi to injuries.

Recall that Brazilian defender, David Luiz, also picked a straight red card in the Gunners 2-2 draw against Chelsea.

Arsenal were on the verge of signing Pablo Mari at the weekend but a late hitch stalled the deal.

Mari had arrived in London on Saturday for his medical with the Gunners technical director, Edu Gaspar, after a deal to sign him on loan with a view to a £7.5m transfer was agreed but the Gunners made a U-turn ans asked for a loan deal.

In a statement on Arsenal’s website on Wednesday, the former Manchester City defender has now joined the club on loan with an option to make the deal permanent in the summer.

Recall that Mari helped the Rio de Janeiro based Flamengo win the Brazilian Serie A title and the Copa Libertadores last year.

He made 22 appearances for Flamengo after joining them last July from Manchester City, where he had been since 2016. The left-footed central defender had three different season-long loan spells during his time at City – in Spain with Girona for the 2016/17 season, then to the Netherlands with NAC Breda in 2017/18, before returning to Spain for the 2018/19 campaign with Deportivo La Coruna.

Mari developed his youth career in Spain with RCD Mallorca, where he made his La Liga debut at the age of just 17. Three years later in 2013 Mari joined Spanish side Gimnastic, where he made nearly 100 appearances in his three seasons with the Catalonian club.

Technical director Edu said: “Pablo is an experienced player who will provide us with additional defensive quality. We have been monitoring Pablo’s career for a while and we are very pleased to have reached agreement with Flamengo for him to join us initially until the end of our season. Together with Mikel and his coaching team, we are all looking forward to seeing Pablo in an Arsenal shirt.”