Arsenal would be making a mistake if Pablo Mari leaves

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Arsenal may let a number of players leave the club this summer in order to fund new signings, but offloading Pablo Mari seems like something of a mistake.

The Gunners are keen to bring in a host of new signings. Edu needs to find a goalkeeper or two, a right back, a centre back, a left back, a couple of midfielders, a number 10 and possibly another striker.

Arsenal don’t have a huge budget to get all that business done, so players like Hector Bellerin, Bernd Leno, Granit Xhaka, Joe Willock, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Eddie Nketiah may be offloaded.

We have already seen Matteo Guendouzi moved on this week, and Besiktas now want to sign Mari according to a report from Spanish newspaper AS.

They claim that the Turkish champions want to take Mari on loan for a season, and he is subsequently thinking about the move in order to play in the Champions League.

Mari was a fairly low-profile signing when Arsenal signed him from Flamengo in 2020. He hadn’t made the grade with Manchester City, and some had concerns about him playing in the Premier League.

For just £14million, Mari has actually equipped himself well. He only started 10 Premier League games, but proved to be solid and dependable depth for Mikel Arteta.

Mari memorably shackled Jamie Vardy in a win at Leicester City, and was even branded ‘spectacular’ by teammate Gabriel Magalhaes in April. He may not make major headlines, but the 27-year-old is clearly well-regarded at Arsenal and Arteta must fight to keep him.

Gabriel has just pulled out of the Olympic Games with Brazil, citing a knee injury. He is Arsenal’s main left-footed centre back, and they only have one other natural option on that side – Mari.

Sure, Kieran Tierney can fill in there in a back three, but if Arteta wants to play a back four, he may now need Mari to fill in on the left side to provide balance to his defence.

Loaning him out wouldn’t even bring in much cash to then sign a replacement. If Arsenal were to be offered profit on Mari, then letting him go may be an easier decision.

On loan though? That doesn’t benefit Arsenal enough right now, especially after Gabriel’s injury.

He isn’t flashy, he not be a first-choice player at the Emirates, but Mari is great depth and should be kept at the club rather than being sent to Turkey.