Arsenal flop Pablo Mari joins Monza on loan as Gunners clear-out continues

Arsenal defender Pablo Mari has completed a loan move to Monza. The 28-year-old defender failed to find his feet at the Emirates Stadium and has now been shipped off to join the newly-promoted Serie A outfit.

Mari joined Arsenal on loan from Flamengo in the winter transfer window of 2020 before the deal was made permanent that summer.

During his stay in north London, though, he has made just 22 appearances for the Gunners, scoring once.

What are the details of Mari's move to Monza?

Mari has joined Monza on a season-long loan with a compulsory purchase clause of €7 million (£5.9m/$7.2m) at the end of next season if the Serie A side are able to avoid relegation.

The two clubs have been in talks for a considerable period of time over the transfer, with the permanent fee the main bone of contention. After it was sorted, the centre-back flew to Italy earlier this week to complete the move.

Why has Pablo Mari left Arsenal?

Mari was Arteta's first signing as Arsenal manager in January 2020 and started in their Europa League semi-final defeat to Villarreal later that season. 

However, the club soon added more defensive reinforcements, and the arrival of Ben White in the summer of 2021 moved Mari further down the pecking order.

In January 2022, he was loaned out to Udinese, but with William Saliba also now back at the club after his own loan spells, Mari was unlikely to earn many minutes in 2022-23.

Who else has left Arsenal this summer?

Arteta has steadily trimmed his squad since the beginning of summer, with midfielders Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira having left to join Marseille and Galatasaray, respectively.

Bernd Leno has been transferred to Fulham for a fee that could rise to £8m with incentives, while Alexandre Lacazette returned to Lyon on a free transfer after his contract ended in north London.

Centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos has also been sold to Stuttgart while Nuno Tavares is on loan at Marseille.

It is understood that the Gunners' clear-out is far from over, as the club is listening to offers for Runar Alex Runarsson, Hector Bellerin, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Reiss Nelson.