Arsenal defence was in shambles when Mikel Arteta took charge and there needed some major intent to revitalize the back-line, especially after losing Calum Chambers to a serious knee injury and the Gunners spent majority of their winter looking for a potential solution in the market.
Arsenal went on to reach an agreement with Flamengo for 26-year-old star Pablo Mari, as the Spainard made couple of appearances before the COVID-19 pandemic forced stop to the Footbal season in England and around the globe.
Technical director Edu has resorted to his expansive contacts back home to get the deal for Pablo Mari over the line and it appears the 26-year-old star was not the only player on Arsenal’s radar in Brazil.
Alexandre Passaro, executive manager of Sao Paulo, has confirmed that Arsenal tried to explore a potential deal for 21-year-old centre-half Walce before sealing the deal for Pablo Mari.
‘Walce had a proposal from Red Bull Bragantino, which we denied,’ Passaro speaking to Brazilian media.
‘Here I think I can even say that we had a conversation with Arsenal, exactly for the spot that went to Pablo Mari. We were talking with Edu Gaspar.’
And as per how Mari was presented and all the interviews concerning Pablo, it looks like Arsenal are stringly considering making Pablo Mari’s stay in North-London a permanent one – which will cost the Gunners around £13.5million. Though number of alternatives have been linked with a move to N5, as likes of Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano and Frankfurt’s Evan N’Dicka have become a potential fillers.
