Arsenal centre-back Pablo Mari made his long-awaited return to action on Friday night.
The Spanish defender hasn’t kicked a ball in a senior game for the Gunners since way back in June.
In the first game of Project Restart, Mari, who was on loan from Flamengo at the time, picked up an injury during Arsenal’s 3-0 defeat away to Manchester City.
The North Londoners have since made the move permanent despite him being unavailable, until now.
Arsenal’s Under-23 side beat Derby County 3-1 last night and Mari played the first 45 minutes in what is likely to have been a pre-planned change, due to how long he has been out.
But it looks like he made a good impression during his time on the field for the reserves and here’s how fans of the Emirates Stadium side reacted to his performance alongside William Saliba.
Arsenal host Wolves at the Emirates on Sunday evening but it’ll be a while longer before Mari is available to return for Mikel Arteta’s senior outfit.
And with the festive schedule on the horizon, rotation could be key for Arteta and he’s going to need Mari fully fit during December at one point, so risking him against Wolves is illogical.
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