Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has told Football London that Pablo Mari has looked excellent in training.
Mari has not featured at all for Arsenal this season due to injury, but he is getting close to making a comeback now.
And Arteta suggests that he has been impressed by the centre-back’s performances in training recently.
“He’s looking really good in training. Obviously he had a difficult surgery, he had a screw and sometimes you can react in an unexpected way inside, it was causing some inflammation in the joint all the time and his ankle was swelling,” Arteta said.
If Mari does return then it will be a boost to Arsenal, who have experienced their fair share of injury problems this term.
Arteta has been unable to find a centre-back pairing to rely upon, with the likes of David Luiz, Gabriel and Rob Holding all being offered a sizeable amount of game time.
Mari’s return should make competition for places at the back even fiercer for Arsenal, with Arteta having a lot of options to choose from now.
Arsenal’s next game comes against Leeds United on Sunday, but it seems likely that match will come too soon for Mari.
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