Arsenal signed Pablo Mari initially on a loan deal from Flamengo in January 2020, months after he joined the Brazilian club from Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta was already in charge when the defender arrived at the Emirates and his stay there was made permanent in the summer of 2020.
Since returning to England, Mari has made 14 league starts with Arsenal, out of which 10 came during the 2020/21 season.
A lack of game time saw the Gunners send the centre-back on loan to Udinese at the start of this year and they again loaned him out to Monza in the summer.
Despite struggling for regular game time at Arsenal, the Brazilian had positive things to say about the north London club’s manager.
“He is a coach who has changed my vision of football. I have done a two-year masterclass with him,” Mari said, as quoted by AS.Arsenal are currently leading the table with 28 points after 11 matches, two points ahead of second placed Manchester City. The performances of Arteta’s men have not surprised the South American.
“Yes, of course [I am watching Arsenal], they are at a stratospheric level. For me the key has been a word called time. It doesn’t surprise me because it was clear that their way of working would give them a lot of joy,” Mari explained.
