Pablo Mari has already decided his next move once his loan spell with Udinese expires at the end of the season and his transfer wish can help parent club Arsenal save millions of pounds.
It may have gone under the radar that the current campaign actually started brightly for the Spaniard in terms of game time as Gabriel Magalhaes' rehabilitation period following a knee injury meant he started games against Brentford and Chelsea as the left-sided centre-back. However, that was as good as it got. Mari's last Premier League appearance prior to joining Udinese in January was the 2-0 home defeat against the Blues where he endured a tough afternoon dealing with Romelu Lukaku and his final Arsenal first-team appearance to date came in the comfortable 3-0 Carabao Cup third-round win over AFC Wimbledon in September.
As a result, it was no surprise to see the 28-year-old depart the Emirates Stadium at the beginning of the year in his search for regular first-team football - and having missed just two Serie A matches since arriving in Italy, it's safe to say this decision is working out for all parties involved. With that in mind, Mari has his heart set on a permanent deal with Udinese. "I would like to stay in Italy," he told Gazetta dello Sport. "I'm very well at Udinese and I'd be happy to take the club even higher in the standings. Of course, I still have a two-year contract with Arsenal."
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Barring a surprise sale, a loss of form to Gabriel or a u-turn by Arteta, Mari's opportunities at Arsenal are likely to be extremely limited - especially if William Saliba is integrated into the first-team picture - next season and that could make the decision regarding his future easier. And by leaving, he will help to save the club in the region of €9million (£7.4m). This is in relation to when the defender earned a permanent contract with the club in the summer of 2020 after becoming Mikel Arteta's first Arsenal signing in the January transfer window when he initially joined on loan.
football.london spoke to someone close to Mari who confirmed that "there are some performance bonuses" included in the transfer fee and Brazilian outlet Globo Esporte reported last January that Arsenal have to pay Flamengo a bonus of €1million (£865,000) every time Mari makes 10 Premier League appearances, up to a maximum of 80 outings.
As the centre-back has made 14 appearances in the top-flight of English football so far, the Gunners have only had to pay that bonus once - and that came following the 1-0 home defeat to Manchester City last season. Therefore, with Flamengo due another €1million if Mari makes a further six Premier League appearances, Arsenal will avoid having to make this payment should they part company with the defender in the summer, and a permanent exit is beneficial as it rules out the option of further payments if the Spaniard was to reach 80 Premier League appearances for the club.
