Udinese’s technical director Pierpaolo Marino has confirmed the club’s desire to sign a new defender when quizzed about Arsenal’s Premier League misfit Pablo Mari, speaking to Sky Italia.
It was like watching peak-era Mike Tyson go head-to-head with a mouthy 17-year-old after too many Koppabergs on a Saturday night. A bloody, brutal knockout.
Pablo Mari went toe-to-toe with Romelu Lukaku in August and limped off the Emirates pitch with his reputation – as well as his aching limbs – battered and bruised.
The 28-year-old hasn’t been seen in a Premier League game since.
And, with Gabriel Magalhaes, Rob Holding, Calum Chambers and Benjamin White moving ahead of him in Mikel Arteta’s pecking order, one wonders if we will ever see Mari again in an Arsenal shirt.
Has Pablo Mari played his last game for Arsenal?
The former Manchester City man joined the Gunners in a £7 million deal two years ago.
And he looks all-but certain to follow Ainsley Maitland-Niles out the door before the month is out – albeit on a permanent, rather than temporary, basis.
Unai Emery’s Villarreal are linked. As have an AC Milan side in the market for a new centre-half after losing the experienced Simon Kjaer to injury.
As it stands, however, Milan’s Serie A rivals Udinese are in pole position (TMW).
I Bianconeri snapped up former Leicester City and Celtic stopper Filip Benkovic last week. But, when discussing a potential swoop for Mari, director Marino admits that Udinese are in the market for another centre-half.
“We want to create a competitive squad,” says Marino, translated by TMW.
“Benkovic is a prospective purchase. As you have seen from the statistics, he needs to recover, to be reconditioned.
“Our scouts know him well, he has important qualities. We will put him in conditions to express himself at his best.”
Can Udinese survive?
Udinese lost star centre-back Samir to Watford last week.
And despite Benkovic’s arrival, a player of Mari’s quality and experience will be very well received at the Stadio Friuli, especially with Udinese glancing nervously over their shoulders at the Serie A drop zone.
“Samir left and we’ll do something again. Definitely a defender,” Marino adds.
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