Pablo Mari and Arsenal have reached a full agreement with A.C. Monza for a loan with an obligation to buy if they stay up.

Fabrizio Romano reports that Pablo Mari is leaving Arsenal to join A.C. Monza on loan with an obligation to buy if the Serie A side avoid relegation this season.

Romano adds that a full agreement has now been reached, and the deal is “done”.

Di Marzio add that Mari is expected in Monza today, carrying out his medical examinations this afternoon before signing his new contract.

In some ways, this is rather surprising, as Mari also reportedly had a permanent transfer offer on the table from Hellas Verona.

The move to Verona made a lot of sense, given it guaranteed Arsenal a fee upfront, Verona were probably more likely to have a strong season than newly-promoted Monza, and Mari already knew their head coach Gabriele Cioffi from Udinese.

Yet it seems Monza managed to win Mari and Arsenal over. We don’t yet know exactly how much they offered as an obligation to buy, but it’s presumably not a huge amount.

Mari made 15 appearances for Udinese last season, joining them towards the end of the January window.

A return to Italy looks like his best option this summer, as it’s evidently a league he can have more success in than he’s had in England.

Mari’s departure seemed somewhat inevitable after Arsenal left him out of their matchday squad against Crystal Palace on Friday night. It looks like we don’t have long to wait for official confirmation now.