Arsenal sell star Pablo Mari after transfer clause triggered as he bounces back from horror knife attack
ARSENAL star Pablo Mari will make his Monza loan permanent after the Italian side sealed their Serie A survival for another season.
The Spaniard, who was Mikel Arteta’s first signing as Gunners boss, has spent the campaign on loan with the Italian top flight new boys.
With tenth-placed Monza now mathematically safe, a number of their loan signings will be made permanent.
Arsenal are set to receive around £4.4million for Mari’s services.
The centre-back played 22 times for the Gunners after joining, initially on loan, from Flamengo in January 2020.
He spent the second half of last season on loan at Udinese, playing 15 times for the Bianconeri.
Mari then signed for newly-promoted Monza on an initial loan deal last summer.
He has played 25 times in Serie A this term, having recovered from a serious injury sustained in a horrifying knife attack in October.
The defender was attacked while shopping at a supermarket alongside his family.
Mari was one of a number of victims to be airlifted to hospital after being stabbed by a knife-wielding attacker – while a 30-year-old supermarket worker died of their injuries.
The following day, Mari said in a statement: “After the hard moment we experienced yesterday, both my family and I want to communicate that fortunately we are all fine despite the circumstances.
“And we want to thank all the messages of support and affection that we are receiving.
“In addition, we want to send our condolences and all our strength to the family and friends of the deceased person, and we sincerely wish that all injured people recover as soon as possible.”