Pablo Mari is ready to play a key role in Arsenal’s push for FA Cup glory and Champions League qualification after admitting he was burnt out when he joined the club.
Mari arrived at Arsenal on loan in January from Brazilian club Flamengo, but he did not make his debut until Monday last week.
That came against Portsmouth in the FA Cup and the Spaniard followed it up by playing the full 90 minutes against West Ham on Saturday.
Prior to that Mari had not played a single minute for Arsenal as his loan spell at Deportivo last season was followed by a summer move to Flamengo, which, given the Brazilian league runs April to December, meant the defender had no time off for 18 months.
“I was on holiday and I was a little bit tired,” Mari told Standard Sport when discussing his move to Arsenal in January.
“I played one year and a half continuously, more or less 60 games. So for me it was a little bit hard when I went on holiday and then I came back a little bit not fit really.
“With the other guys and staff we did really well and I think now I am really fit to play a lot of games.”
Mari’s two appearances for Arsenal have yielded two clean sheets and he is in line to feature against his old club Manchester City on Wednesday.
The centre-back spent three years there before leaving in 2019, but he never played for them and was instead continually loaned out.
“I’ve learned a lot because when I was there I was young, now I am little bit older,” Mari added.
“I don’t want to look back, I want to look forward. Now I am in a really good club and I want to continue here for a lot of years.”
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