‘Flawless’: Arsenal loanee hailed for ‘best’ performance, ignored by Arteta

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Italian publication TuttoMercatoWEB have hailed Pablo Mari for his ‘flawless’ display to help Udinese hold AC Milan to a 1-1 draw on Friday night during his loan transfer from Arsenal.

The Bianconeri travelled to the San Siro looking to cause an upset as Stefano Pioli’s side eye Serie A glory. The night started well for the Rossoneri when Rafael Leao – who Arsenal are favourites to sign this summer, per La Repubblica – scored his eighth goal of the term.

But Udinese held on and replied midway through the second-half with Destiny Udogie firing home the equaliser on 66-minutes. AC Milan tried in vain to restore their advantage to end the night atop the table by two-points to Inter. But Pioli’s side have played one game more.

Leao broke the deadlock after holding off Rodrigo Becao to pull down Sandro Tonali’s cross before finding the far corner. He has now struck three goals in his last four games, after also netting against Lazio in the Coppa Italia. The striker has now hit 11 goals in all competitions.

Mari could do nothing to stop Leao finding the back of the Udinese net after jostling Olivier Giroud. The San Siro clash was the Spaniard’s fourth Serie A game since joining in January.

Media hail ‘flawless’ Arsenal loanee Pablo Mari for Udinese display vs AC Milan

Mikel Arteta let Mari seal a half-term loan transfer to Udinese having ignored the defender at Arsenal this season. He had featured just three times in all competitions and had not played since September. His last Premier League outing also came against Chelsea in August.

So, Mari had ‘no doubts’ about leaving Arsenal when Udinese sought a loan in the January transfer window. And now, he is rewarding their trust to earn praise from the Italian press.

“The best in defence,” TMW said. “He reads more than one situation in advance, removing the chestnuts from the fire around [Marco] Silvestri. Providential on Leao’s lob in the final.”

Mari’s Udinese loan transfer does not have an option for the Serie A side to buy the Arsenal defender. So, he will return to north London this summer with two-years on his contract.