Report: Villarreal eye Arsenal defender Pablo Mari

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Arsenal defender Pablo Mari is attracting the attention of Unai Emery, with El Gol Digital reporting that Villarreal are bracing themselves for interest in Pau Torres.

The Yellow Submarine are currently on an extremely poor run in La Liga. They have not won a league game in more than two months and are starting to get cut adrift of the European places in La Liga.

According to El Gol Digital, their hopes of keeping Torres will not be helped at all by finishing outside the top six. And thus, they are considering potential replacements for the 24-year-old.

According to the report, Mari is on Villarreal’s radar. In fact, it is claimed that it would take just £4.3 million to prise him away from the Emirates.

TBR View: No chance Arsenal sell Mari for anything like £4.3 million

Mari has started to establish himself as a more important member of Mikel Arteta’s squad in recent weeks.

The 27-year-old has started their last three Premier League games. And he has arguably been extremely impressive given the problems he has had with injury since arriving at the Emirates.

Arsenal do have a large group of centre-backs on their books. And with some returning from loan spells in the summer, it seems likely that some will leave in the coming months.

However, Mari appears to be first-choice right now. So it looks incredibly unlikely that Arsenal will show any interest in selling him.

And in truth, the report’s claim that they could demand just £4.3 million seems baffling. If the Gunners are willing to sell Mari, they are surely going to ask for considerably more.