Report suggests Arsenal ‘must exercise’ £12m Pablo Mari permanent deal

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Arsenal will seemingly have to make Pablo Mari’s loan at the club permanent, according to reports in Brazil. 

The Gunners snapped up the Spaniard on loan from Brazilian side Flamengo in January. Unfortunately, he had to build his fitness up with the under-23s before getting a first-team chance, so Arsenal fans only saw a limited amount of minutes from Mari before football was suspended due to the global health crisis. 

It has left many to speculate as to whether Arsenal would activate a permanent transfer or not. 

But Fox Sports in Brazil suggests they have little choice. They report that Arsenal ‘must exercise’ their buy-out clause for the player. The report suggests that Arsenal have already paid £4 million for Mari and a further £8 million will secure his permanent £12 million transfer. 

It seems the financial situation caused by the global situation will not see Flamengo going back to the negotiating table, as they expect the pre-agreed payment. 

Mari told a Reddit Q&A session this week of his desire to sign a permanent deal at The Emirates. That now looks likely to be the case. 

“But you only know how big Arsenal is when you come inside.

“I feel like I’ve improved a lot in myself and can improve with this club to be a better player. So I am feeling really well when I signed the loan with Arsenal and I hope I can extend this to permanent with them because I am ready to fight together with Arsenal.”

There had been rumblings that suggested Arsenal might try back out of the deal, because of the current situation. 

But a Tweet earlier this week quoted The Athletic’s Arsenal correspondent David Ornstein as suggesting Mari was set for a permanent move. That post suggested a permanent £10 million deal, so it seems the whole deal will be somewhere between the £10-£12 million region.

However, even if Arsenal were hoping to negotiate any deal, it seems that Mari will become a full-time player when the next transfer window opens.