Pablo Mari and AC Monza continued their unbeaten run with another win on Sunday to enter the top half of the Serie A table.

Arsenal loanee Pablo Mari helped AC Monza to keep a clean sheet against Bologna on Sunday, in a 1-0 win away from home.

The victory allowed Monza to leapfrog their opponents into the top half of the table, sitting above Bologna in 10th place on goal difference.

Monza are now on a run of eight league games without a defeat, a run stretching back to before the World Cup break.

Their only loss during that period was a 2-1 away defeat to Juventus in the Italian cup, and they subsequently got revenge on Massimiliano Allegri’s side with a 2-0 league victory.

For the time being, thoughts of a relegation battle have faded into insignificance, as Monza instead look up at the teams above them.

Seventh-place Torino are now just a point clear of Mari’s loan side.

The main takeaway from Monza and Mari’s recent success should be that it’s great to see the player performing so well following his surgery on a stab wound earlier this campaign.

To have played such a significant role in Monza’s recent run (starting five of the eight matches unbeaten and coming off the bench in two) is the ideal comeback for Mari.

There’s also an impact on Mari’s long-term future, as Monza have an obligation to buy him under certain conditions, one of which is that they remain in Serie A.

As it stands, relegation doesn’t seem to be a significant concern, and Mari is up to 16 appearances for the season. So an obligation to buy based on either of those two factors looks likely to be triggered this summer.