In three years at Manchester City Pablo Mari never came close to a first-team breakthrough, but he appears he did enough to catch the eye of Mikel Arteta.
Mari spent every campaign away from the Etihad on loan and left permanently in the summer to join Flamengo, but he is now reported to be on the verge of a Premier League return to link up with former City assistant boss Arteta at Arsenal.
The Blues signed Spanish centre back Mari from Gimnastic in August 2016. Within a day he'd moved to Girona on loan, before spending the 2017/18 season with NAC Breda and the last campaign with Deportivo La Coruna.
In the summer he left the Etihad to sign for Brazilian giants Flamengo in a permanent deal worth around £1million. In November he helped his new team win the Copa Libertadores and in December played in the Club World Cup.
He now looks set for a second chance at shining in the Premier League, with Arteta keen to take him to the Emirates Stadium. Football.london report that the Gunners want to sign Mari on loan during this transfer window, with the option of making the move permanent in the summer.
The Spaniard is set for further talks over the move on Saturday afternoon having flown into London. He was spotted with Arsenal technical director Edu on Friday night.
Arsenal are in the market for a central defender following the season-ending knee injury suffered by Calum Chambers.
