Some time ago, Mikel Arteta said that Pablo Mari was ill but the defender hasn’t been in a matchday squad since 22 September so is he sick or on his way out?

BOREHAMWOOD, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 17: Pablo Mari of Arsenal FC looks on prior to the Premier League 2 match between Arsenal FC U23s and Chelsea FC U23s at Meadow Park on February 17, 2020 in Borehamwood, England. (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images)
BOREHAMWOOD, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 17: Pablo Mari of Arsenal FC looks on prior to the Premier League 2 match between Arsenal FC U23s and Chelsea FC U23s at Meadow Park on February 17, 2020 in Borehamwood, England. (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images)

It seems highly unlikely that Pablo Mari has been sick for 34 days without some sort of announcement from the club regarding the problem. It would therefore seem like he has been ousted from the squad and is heading for an exit.

The centreback, who is still only 28, signed for Arsenal from Flamengo for a crazy £7.2m loan fee before Arsenal paid another £5.4m for him even though he has never been valued at more than £6.3m.

While Mikel Arteta has undergone a clearout of Unai Emery players, Mari was one that was brought to the club under the watch of Arteta, even if Edu was more involved than the Spaniard.

Still, many eyebrows were raised when Arsenal paid such a large fee for Mari and his return on the pitch has proven the eyebrows correct.

An ankle injury ruled him out for 31 games in the 19/20 season while a calf problem kept him out of another six at the start of 2021.

In total, Mari has managed just 39 appearances for Arsenal, only 22 of which have been starts.

Earlier this week, Brazilian reporter Gustavo Henrique claimed Flamengo insiders have made it clear to the reporter that they’re hoping to re-sign Pablo Mari from Arsenal.

Brentford v Arsenal 13 August 2021, London - Premier League Football - Brentford v Arsenal - Pablo Mari of Arsenal pulls a face as he wipes sweat from his forehead - Photo: Charlotte Wilson / Offside. London UK
Brentford v Arsenal 13 August 2021, London – Premier League Football – Brentford v Arsenal – Pablo Mari of Arsenal pulls a face as he wipes sweat from his forehead – Photo: Charlotte Wilson / Offside. London UK

Amid the speculation around Mari’s future, Rio-based journalist Henrique claims Flamengo want Mari back, but it’s not a simple deal.

Gustavo said: “I talked to an important person at the club who told me the following: ‘Gustavo, how can I say that Flamengo doesn’t want Pablo Mari’s return? It is evident that Flamengo wants to, but there are many details that need to be fixed for him to return.'”

It’s no real surprise to see conversations over Mari’s future beginning to happen.

As we covered recently, Mari is one of the players who has been almost completely excluded from Mikel Arteta’s squads for the last couple of months.

Mari’s last appearance in a Premier League squad was on September 18th against Burnley, and he’s only made one League Cup start against AFC Wimbledon since then.

Football - 2021 / 2022 Premier League - Arsenal vs Chelsea - Emirates Stadium - Sunday 22nd August 2021 Romelu Lukaku of Chelsea making his debut , holds off Pablo Mari to score the opening goal
Football – 2021 / 2022 Premier League – Arsenal vs Chelsea – Emirates Stadium – Sunday 22nd August 2021. Romelu Lukaku holds off Pablo Mari

The centre-back still has another four years on his contract, but it would be strange to see him sticking around next season if the current situation continues.

As much as anything else, Arsenal have multiple centre-backs returning from loan spells to add to the congestion next summer.

Konstantinos Mavropanos will likely join VfB Stuttgart, but William Saliba is set to return. Daniel Ballard and Harry Clarke are both doing well this season, too.

If Mari can’t even get in the squad now, that seems unlikely to change when you add one or two more into the mix.

The 28-year-old had a successful period with Flamengo the first time around, so he may well end up returning.