Arsenal complete deal for Pablo Mari

Arsenal have agreed a deal worth £11.4 million for the permanent transfer of Spanish defender Pablo Mari from Brazilian side Flamengo. Mari, who succumbed to a serious injury this week in the game against Manchester City, is set to be brought in on a permanent basis and becomes Mikel Arteta's first permanent transfer signing.

The 26-year-old defender, who ironically had a three year spell with Man City during 2016 and 2019, caught the eye in Brazil playing for Flamengo sufficiently to be brought in to the Emirates on a short-term basis. The coronavirus crisis meant that Premier League football had been delayed for three months, but Arteta has been persuaded to make the deal permanent after a series of impressive training displays from the centre back.

With uncertainty over the long-term future of David Luiz, whose contract will expire shortly, Arsenal have moved swiftly to sign Pablo Mari. The Spaniard will put pen to paper on a four year deal with the Emirates giants this weekend, and is likely to partner Shkodran Mustafi at the heart of Arsenal's defence next season.