Arsenal: New signing Pablo Mari the good kind of unknown

Arsenal fans will have no idea what to expect out of Pablo Mari, but the good news is that he is just the right kind of unknown.

It’s understandable that no one was banging the hype drum when Arsenal announced the signing of Pablo Mari. For starters, he was a loan. we’ve learned through such loans as Denis Suarez and Kim Kallstrom that loans are… hit and miss with an emphasis on the latter.

For seconders, he’s 26 and coming from Brasileirão. Gabriel Martinelli made the same move, but he’s a teenage sensation that wasn’t brought in because of a desperation situation caused by injuries.

Even with the option to buy in Mari’s contract, all anyone can say is “well, let’s see.” We know that he’s left footed, and that’s pretty swell, but aside from that, no one is expecting him to turn around this defense. In fact, no one knows what to expect, because, again, he is a great big unknown.

He’s the good kind of unknown though. The kind of unknown that can’t do any damage or cause any setbacks. At the absolute worst, he proves that he isn’t good enough and we let him go back to Brazil after a few months.

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At the absolute best, he proves to be a hidden gem who solidifies a starting job in our starting XI, we buy him at the end of the loan for far cheaper than we could get Dayot Upamecano for and we look like geniuses for uncovering a solution in South American leagues.

There’s a whole lot of middle ground in there, but it all skews positive. What’s most likely is he proves steady, if not unremarkable, and provides a solid option that we can count on to fill in or anchor midweek competitions while still pressuring the Premier League regulars to stay at their best, for fear that he could take their spot.

But again, for all the great unknown that lays ahead of him, none of it is going to hurt the team. None of it. There is zero risk to this unknown. There was risk with guys like Suarez and Kallstrom because more was riding on their ability to fill the void that needed filling.

Not so with Mari. We have a lot of defensive personnel that are doing surprisingly well. What we need are long-term solutions and Mari could be that or he could not be that. But either way, no one loses.