Arsenal are reportedly open to covering some of Pablo Mari’s wage should the Spanish defender leave for good this summer, with Hellas Verona interested in signing the centre-back.
According to Corriere di Verona via SportWitness, the Serie A side are very interested in signing the 28-year-old Arsenal outcast this summer. However, like many sides across Europe, Hellas cannot afford Mari’s wages, yet it appears that Arsenal are willing to cover some of the defender’s salary.
As per the report, Arsenal are keen to offload Mari for good this summer, and the Gunners are open to covering a part of the centre-back’s wage should Hellas make an attempt to sign the former Flamengo star, with the Spaniard impressing in Italy last season with Udinese.
Mari is one of many players who is set to leave Arsenal this summer, with Bernd Leno, Lucas Torreira and Nicolas Pepe all set to depart the Emirates Stadium in the coming weeks, yet it looks like the defender will be the only one to receive this special treatment from the Gunners to get them off their books.
The ‘amazing‘ centre-back was Mikel Arteta’s first-ever signing as Arsenal boss as the Basque coach brought Mari from Brazil for a reported £12m, with the Gunners now demanding a similar transfer fee for the former Manchester City talent for the likes of Hellas.
Indeed, with Arsenal pushing hard to sign Lisandro Martinez and William Saliba set to return to north London, selling Mari to Hellas make a lot of sense for the club, as well as being open to covering some of the defender’s wages for next season should the centre-back make a permanent move to Italy.
Mari showed last season with Udinese that he can be an exceptional player in Serie A, and for Hellas, the Arsenal defender has the potential to be an incredible signing for any Italian side, especially if the Gunners are willing to cover some of his wages.
Indeed, Arsenal are again making big changes this summer, and allowing Mari to leave whilst also covering some of his wages will be great way to shift off some more deadwood in the defence, something Arteta and Edu have been doing for the past few windows.
