So it appears the transfer Merry-go-round for Pablo Mari has once again swung around Arsenal’s way, as reports from Brazil last night were saying that Flamengo have accepted Arsenal’s desires and will make the deal for him to join us this January, one that will only be a loan with an ‘option’ to buy rather than an ‘obligation’.

And at this stage I think it should be hard for any Arsenal fan to disagree this is worth doing. We all know the value that isn’t achieved in January and the premium that every team seems to pay on price, simply because teams don’t want to lose players halfway through a season, so it stands to reason that most will take the approach:

Well, if we’re going to lose <player x> with little or no time to replace, let’s make sure we make an absolute killing on him.

Which is why this is a good deal because, like Denis Suarez last season, it mitigates any potential risk if Mari fails to settle.

It’s also the reason why I can’t see Aubameyang joining Barcelona this January. Yes, they have a desperate need with Suarez out and yes, I’m sure Aubameyang would love to go to a team almost certainly to play Champions League football and fighting for the title. Barcelona are always an attractive proposition for a player and so I can understand why he might be open to a move. But I’ve already heard from multiple journos that Barca don’t have the cash, so how would they fund such a transfer?

The talk is about a loan with an obligation to buy, but again that puts Arsenal at a massive disadvantage and with the fact we all know that Auba has said he’s happy at the club, plus the general acceptance from most of us that he’s likely to leave this summer, it feels like it gives us a weirdly strong hand. Certainly in January anyway. We can say to Auba that we’ll allow him to go in the summer, but the only way he leaves in January is for an eye watering amount. We are desperate to keep him now and unless a club shows they are desperate to sign him by coughing up top dollar, then there simply isn’t a discussion to be had.

I mean sure, if Barca want to offer a total deal which is around £80million for Aubameyang then Arsenal would be silly not to listen to it, for example, but I can’t see the Catalans doing that and so my hope is that the big price tag puts them off.

But anyway, back to Mari, a deal in which I think Arsenal’s insistence on structuring it their way and is totally the correct decision. As Arsenal fans I think most of us had probably accepted that we might not get anyone and to be honest most of us probably thought that this season was done anyway. We’re all just focused on how Arteta gets a better tune out of his current orchestra. But it seems an additional bass might be on its way and that cant hurt, as far as I’m concerned, particularly with ongoing question marks on Mustafi.

It also gives Mari an incentive to show what he can do too. He’s been loaned out to a few clubs but I suspect this is his biggest short term deal of his career and it wouldn’t surprise me if he was the one that pushed Flamengo to agree to a loan move with no obligation to buy. In a sense for him it’s also a low risk move. He’s already proven himself at Flamengo, this was the beginning of their season at the moment I believe, so if he isn’t a success in five months at Arsenal he can head back with his reputation at the Brazilian club still in tact. However, if he manages to be a success in Arteta’s Arsenal, then he has a shot at regular game time in the biggest league in the world.

Of course you’d push through a loan move if you could.

Plus, think of all the air miles he’s managed to rack up, all as a result of this transfer? He could probably get himself a free upgrade for his next holiday if he’s on the Brazilian equivalent of British Airways. Quids in lad.

We do of course need to get confirmation of the deal but given that the window shuts on Friday, that will at least happen one way or another, sooner rather than later. Let’s get him in, get him integrated, then see what he can do for us.

Catch you sexy bitches tomorrow.