Pablo Mari: ‘I’d like to stay in Italy’

On-loan Arsenal defender Pablo Marì says he would prefer to remain in Italy than return to England:  ‘Serie A is the perfect league for me.’ The Spanish centre-back has been on loan in Udine since joining the Friulani in the January transfer window.

Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Mari explained why he believes Serie A is such a good fit for him:

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.

Udinese are a very competitive team. We always play to win and I like Italy, very similar to Spain.

I feel good 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.

Arteta is a great coach, like Jorge Jesus at Flamengo, I’ve had excellent masters. Best defender in the world? No doubts, Virgil van Dijk, he’s an animal.

Idols? Carlos Marchena, a former Spanish defender of Villarreal. I admired Alessandro Nesta, but also Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Matthijs de Ligt.”