Arsenal have confirmed that they have reached agreements with Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares respectively to sign them to permanent deals.
The pair joined the Gunners on loan in January, and although they both suffered injury setbacks in the second half of the season, they’ve seemingly done enough on and off the pitch to earn the right to extend their stay at the Emirates and prove to the club that they have a role to play moving forward.
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As confirmed by the club’s official site, both players have now signed on a permanent basis, and so Mikel Arteta will be able to continue to call upon them in the new campaign and beyond as he looks to shore things up defensively.
It makes sense in many ways as if Arteta is convinced that the pair can offer him quality depth and competition, then there’s no real need to look elsewhere this summer as they will have already settled and proven what they can do, which in turn also allows him to focus on other areas of concern in the current squad.
With Arsenal looking to break back into the top four in the Premier League and compete on multiple fronts, they’ll certainly need the depth to allow Arteta to rotate across a gruelling campaign, and so the Spaniard now has two more options confirmed for the new season.
Mari made three appearances before suffering an ankle injury in the first match back after the restart, while Cedric featured on five occasions and will no doubt offer an alternative option to Hector Bellerin at right-back.
I think they have to find average players in anot her team