Arsenal loanee Pablo Marí impresses on Udinese debut

Arsenal loanee Pablo Marí impressed on his debut with Udinese against Torino and was praised by the Bianconeri coach Gabriele Cioffi.

Marí moved to the Dacia Arena on a dry six-month loan deal from Arsenal in January. The 28-year-old made his debut with the Bianconeri yesterday playing the whole game against Torino.

Udinese managed a 2-0 win thanks to late goals from Nahuel Molina and Ignacio Pussetto, but Marí gave his contribution defensively throughout the 90 minutes.

Marí played in a three-man defence close to Rodrigo Becao and Marvin Zeegelaar and he had the most touches (49) after Mato Jajalo. Marí covered almost 10 kilometres in the game.

He was rated 6/10 by Il Corriere dello Sport, 6.5 by Gazzetta and 7 by Tuttosport.

Udinese coach Cioffi, a former central defender, praised the Spaniard during his post-match interview.

“I am happy with Pablo’s performance, he did well, like the rest of the team. The group must be our strength.”

Udinese sit 14th in Serie A and are hovering nine points above the relegation zone.