Football

Arsenal new boy Pablo Mari channels Ricky Martin as defender performs initiation


Pablo Mari may not have featured for Arsenal in the first leg of their Europa League tie with Olympiakos – but that didn’t stop the new boy from delivering a stellar performance in Greece.

The former Man City defender only moved to the Londoners in the January transfer window , initially joining on loan from Brazilian side Flamengo with a view to a permanent switch in the summer.

With Flamengo’s season having finished after the Club World Cup final defeat to Liverpool in December, the 26-year-old is building up his match fitness with his new club having not played competitively for almost two months.

Arsenal new boy Pablo Mari was put through his initiation on Thursday

However, that did not prevent Mari from taking part in every footballer’s rite of passage when switching sides – singing in front of their new team mates.

The centre-back’s initiation appeared to take place following the match with Olympiakos on Thursday, with Arsenal skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang uploading a clip to his Instagram account.

In it, the Spaniard can be seen treating his colleague’s to a rendition of Ricky Martin’s hit single ‘Maria’, a song that sold five million copies after its release in 1995.

The former Flamengo man sang Ricky Martin’s ‘Maria’ for his new colleagues

Mari certainly got into character for his performance with the defender also including some dance moves in the routine, much to the amusement of the Arsenal squad.

It seems the 26-year-old has swiftly integrated himself into the Arsenal squad off the pitch and boss Mikel Arteta will be hoping he can soon do the same on it.

The centre-back made his first appearance in an Arsenal shirt on Monday as he played a single half in a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea in Premier League 2.

The ex-Man City man also chucked in some cheeky dance moves to his routine

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There were some positive signs for the 26-year-old despite the result and Arteta was pleased Mari’s first game a Gunners side went off without a hitch.

“When he joined the club he hadn’t played for a long time and he had a little niggle as well when he joined us, but his attitude and commitment has been really, really good and highly surprising,” said the former Man City coach.

“He did really well the other day and hopefully we can start to use him soon.”





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