Pablo Mari says he hopes to turn his loan deal at Arsenal into a permanent transfer, even though football's current suspension has made everything in the game "difficult".
The Spanish defender arrived in north London from Brazilian club Flamengo in January, having just featured in their Club World Cup final defeat to Liverpool in Qatar.
Mari was previously on the books of Manchester City without ever playing a first-team game for the club, but he has played twice for the Gunners under former City assistant boss Mikel Arteta, featuring for the full 90 minutes of the 2-0 FA Cup victory at Portsmouth and the 1-0 win over West Ham in Arsenal's last Premier League game before the shutdown.
Mari's loan deal came with an option to make his move to the Gunners permanent at the end of the season for a fee of around £13.5million, and the 26-year-old says he hopes the deal can be done.
"I have a lot of things to learn but I think my football can be really good with the Arsenal," he told Sky Sports.
"I hope the club and I can go at the end (of the season) with good things to do the permanent transfer.
"We will see what happens because at the moment with the virus it is difficult."
Mari also heaped praise on Arteta, who has made steady but tangible progress with his Arsenal side since he took over from Unai Emery in the hotseat in December.
"He has done really well so far. I'm really happy to work with him," he said.
"He has helped me with my weaknesses and improved the strengths. I hope I can work with him a lot of years."
