Arsenal outcast Pablo Mari has opened up on the candid Mikel Arteta talks which sealed his move away from the Emirates.
Mari became Mikel Arteta’s first signing when he joined, initially on loan from Flamengo, in January 2020.
The 28-year-old had made just two appearances for the Gunners before the Premier League was suspended due to the first outbreak of coronavirus in March of that year.
The versatile defender then started the first game of Project Restart but suffered a serious ankle injury just minutes into the 3-0 defeat by his former side Manchester City.
Despite the lengthy injury, Arsenal agreed to make his deal permanent in the summer of that year, signing a four-year contract at the start of the window.
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Mari was then in and out of the side in the 2020/21 season, before sliding down the pecking order following the arrivals of players like Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White.
Having played just twice in the early months of this season, Mari was allowed to join Serie A side Udinese on loan, in order to try and earn some regular first-team minutes.
And Mari has now admitted that Arteta made it clear that he was not part of his immediate first-team plans, leaving the centre-back little choice but to move on.
"In the winter, we made commitments together," Mari told ESPN. "I explained my situation to him, my feelings. I don't play in the last six months.
"[He said] the plan in the next six months until June is going to be the same. I can play, of course, because maybe other centre-backs get injured, there can be a red card or yellow cards, but it is going to be one, two, maximum three or four games.
"In the end, I don't want that for me."
Despite the relatively blunt assessment of his standing within the squad, Mari holds no ills towards Arteta and instead heaped praise on the Spaniard for the way he dealt with the situation.
He added: "[Arteta] was a really, really, really good person in that moment. He said to me 'Everything that you need, you deserve that. You were a professional player until the end and you deserve it so everything I can help you, I'm going to do it.'
"I'm so glad to hear that from a coach because it was not an easy moment for me."
Arsenal included no option to make Mari's move to Udinese permanent and he is refusing to close the door on yet becoming an established player at his parent club.
"For me, of course it is possible," he continued. "I never close that door. It continues to be my dream, playing for a big club in the world and for Arsenal of course. I played there for two years, I have two more years [on my] contract.
"Of course, it would be my dream. But in the end, I don't know. I don't know what is going to happen tomorrow, I cannot predict what is going to happen next year.
"Would I like to be there? Yes of course, but I don't know what is going to happen. I want to be focused on now, in the present, what I can do now to enjoy again to play football and to feel again that I am a professional football player."
