Pablo Mari has yet again expressed his desire to make his move to Arsenal from Flamengo permanent in the summer.
The Spaniard arrived in north London on loan in January but the Gunners do have the option to buy him at the end of the deal.
Before the coronavirus outbreak put a hold on football across the globe, Mari managed four appearances for Arsenal [two for the Under-23s and two for the first team], looking steady and assured in each of his outings. Reflecting on his first few months at the club, the Spaniard explained what his first impressions were and his aims for the future.
"I was feeling like I am in a historical and traditional club. I already knew it's a big club because when you are young and you see the Premier League you always look at Arsenal like an unbelievable team," he said in a Reddit Ask Me Anything session.
"But you only know how big Arsenal is when you come inside.
"I feel like I've improved a lot in myself and can improve with this club to be a better player. So I am feeling really well when I signed the loan with Arsenal and I hope I can extend this to permanent with them because I am ready to fight together with Arsenal."
Despite being at the club for such a short space of time, fans have taken to Mari extremely quickly. Coming to Arsenal with such a good reputation having been coached by Jorge Jesus, the anticipation for his debut was high.
Although his eventual debut came at Fratton Park, he was close to making his bow in the Europa League as travelled with the squad for the first leg of the round of 32 clash with Olympiacos. Seeing this, the travelling fans made their joy for his arrival known, which the 26-year-old noticed.
"That feeling I felt when I went to the corner and all of the supporters were starting to shout to me was like I had started really good in the club with those fans," he added during the session.
"It gives me a lot of support to fight every day to give everything to this club and to the fans and I hope that we are going to enjoy a lot of wins together in the Emirates!"
This isn't the first time that Mari has expressed he wants to make his move to Arsenal permanent, of course, but nevertheless it is just as encouraging that he still feels that way.
"I have a lot of things to learn but I think my football can be really good with the Arsenal," he told Sky Sports in mid-April. "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. Mikel Arteta has done really well so far. I'm really happy to work with him. He has helped me with my weaknesses and improved my strengths. I hope I can work with him a lot of years.
"I love England and so does my wife. The centre of London is unbelievable. We are really happy here. My aim is to win the Premier League or try to go to the Champions League with the Arsenal. Also to go to the national team."
