Pablo Marì hopes to remain at Udinese rather than returning to Arsenal at the end of the season: ‘Serie A is the perfect league for me.’
The Spanish defender joined the Friulani on loan in the January transfer window, but Udinese don’t have an option to make his move permanent at the end of the campaign. Marì has impressed at the Dacia Arena and is willing to remain in Italy beyond the season.
“It’s the perfect league for me. Very tactical, but I can keep the ball and there are battles on the pitch, which I like. I’d like to stay in Italy,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“Udinese are a very competitive team. We always play to win and I like Italy, very similar to Spain.
“I feel well at Udinese and I’d like to bring the club higher in the table. I have two years left in my contract with Arsenal and I’ve returned to playing consistently after five months on the sidelines.
“I love Italy, I’ve already visited Porto Cervo and Venice. Wonderful. In England, everything shuts at 5 pm…”
Arsenal had spent circa €8m to sign him from Flamengo in 2020, but the Spaniard struggled with playing time at the Emirates Stadium, also due to some injuries. What is his rapport with the Gunners’ boss Mikel Arteta?
“Arteta is a great coach, like Jorge Jesus at Flamengo, I’ve had excellent masters,” he said.
Who is the best defender in the world at the moment?
“No doubts, Virgil van Dijk, he’s an animal.”
Has he had other idols?
“Carlos Marchena, a former Spanish defender of Villarreal. I admired Alessandro Nesta, but also Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Matthijs de Ligt.”
Udinese have lost just two games out of the eight played by Marì since his move to the Dacia Arena. He has quickly become a regular starter under Gabriele Cioffi, who replaced Luca Gotti at the beginning of December.
Udinese: parla Marì, leader dei bianconeri: "La #SerieA è fatta per me" https://t.co/zn4Q4U56SI
— La Gazzetta dello Sport (@Gazzetta_it) April 12, 2022