Flamengo’s wish to bring Pablo Mari back to the club continues to be reported in Brazil, where outlet Torcedores today features an interesting update on the situation.
The website writes that the defender ‘wants to leave’ Arsenal, as he’s ‘unsatisfied’ with the little playing time he’s been getting under Mikel Arteta this season.
That’s the main reason why Flamengo believe there’s a ‘real possibility’ to sign him soon, and the Rio de Janeiro side already made an ‘initial approach’, although there’s no official bid on the table yet.
Torcedores claims that Arsenal are willing to let Mari leave on a loan, but the problem is that Edu Gaspar doesn’t want him gone to South America, as he’ll ‘lose visibility and get devalued’.
It’s said Mari recently had approaches from Russia and Ukraine, but hasn’t shown interest in ‘secondary leagues’, and that’s why he chose to stay at Arsenal.
As Flamengo prepare for the ‘complex negotiation’ which ‘will demand patience’, they know they can only afford half of the player’s currently salary.
So on top of reluctantly allowing him to move to Brazil, the Gunners would also have to keep paying part of his wages, which isn’t a great deal all around.
