Arsenal’s back line line has been shaking since our leader Laurent Koscielny departed from the club to go back his nation and play for Bordeaux in 2019.
The French international was the captain of Arsenal and has been a great influence for youngsters and his fellow teammates. The 34-year-old center back has been playing for the Gunners since 2010, donning the infamous Red and Whites for over 350 times for the English side.
Since his move to Bordeaux, Arsenal need someone who takes charge of things at the back. Nobody has been able to step up and take this responsibility and be successful. Yes, you could argue David Luiz has been doing alot – but we need a calm figure like Kos’ at the back.
With Rob Holding and Calum Chambers ruled out of the season, Mikel Arteta needed reinforcement to his defence. After about a month-long links, Arsenal brought in Flamengo defender Pablo Mari on an initial loan until the end of the season, paying Brazilian club a fee of around €5m, with the North London side have an option to make the deal permanent.
Pablo Mari has shown early signs of capabilities to fill in for Koscielny, despite not featuring for the Gunners alot owing to the current global health crisis. Mari has shown immense quality back in Brazil, when Flamengo had a vulnerable defence and they brought the left footed defender in bid to stabilize their backline. Jorge Jesus slotted him in a way that Pablo can move the ball from back in a very promising manner. He played an influential role for Flamengo in their Copa Libertadores triumph, which won for the first time in 38 years and Mari became the first Spaniard to win the competition.
Moreover, Pablo is sound in reading the game from the back, which also makes him a firm presence technically & his exceptional physical strength allows Mari to remain firm in tackles which gives him a stronger hand in winning aerial duels. Koscielny is also player with well maintained physique and a great height which helped him bully strikers.
Although Mari is not the fastest centre backs we have, his ability to read to game and retreat as per the situations makes up for his lack of pace.
Pablo Mari has all it takes to be Spanish version of Laurent Koscielny, though whether it’s Prime Kos or the latter less effective version of the Fernchman is yet to be seen.
