Pablo Mari has made it perfectly clear to Arsenal that he does not want to return following his loan move to Udinese.
The defender linked up with the Italian club during the January transfer window after losing his place in Mikel Arteta 's back line. Since the switch, Mari has made eight appearances for Udinese and is now keen to remain with the Serie A side, despite having a contract at the Emirates for another two years.
Having signed for Arsenal in a £7million transfer deal in 2020 from Brazilian side Flamengo after an initial loan spell, the 28-year-old recently failed to rule out the prospect of a return. Now, though, Mari has told the Gunners that he does indeed want to stay in Italy beyond the current campaign.
"When I arrived in January, I had a clear and precise idea," the Spaniard explained in an interview with Gazetta dello Sport. "I told the coach and [club owner] Gino Pozzo that I was coming to play. But I realised that I had to earn the job day after day, workout after workout. [Head coach] Gabriele Cioffi was the first who welcomed me, well, here.
"It's the right league for me. Very tactical. I try to bring the attacker towards me. I really like having the ball and here it can be done and then there is the battle and I like having a battle on the pitch." Mari, who has only appeared 22 times for his parent club, then went on to reiterate his intentions.
"I would like to stay in Italy. I'm very well at Udinese and I'd be happy to take the club even higher in the standings," the left-footed centre-back affirmed. "Of course, I still have a two-year contract with Arsenal. I've resumed playing continuously after the operation on my left ankle where I was out for five months."
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Having started the Gunners' first two Premier League games this term, Mari fell victim to opposing strikers Ivan Toney and Romelu Lukaku in 2-0 defeats to Brentford and Chelsea, respectively. Arteta soon replaced him with the previously injured Gabriel Magalhaes and has not looked back since.
Making only one more appearance before being shipped out to Udinese, a League Cup third-round victory over Wimbledon, Mari held honest discussions with his boss, revealing to ESPN : "In the winter, we made commitments together. 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." But despite Arteta's decision, Mari respected his compatriot for the way he handled the situation.
"[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."
