Mikel Arteta says January signing Pablo Mari is in contention to make his Arsenal debut in Monday night’s FA Cup fifth round tie at Portsmouth.
The centre-back has yet to make an appearance for the Gunners since his arrival from Brazilian side Flamengo, but he has turned out for the club’s under-23 side.
Mari – who had previously been on the books at Manchester City – played for the first 45 minutes of an under-23 fixture against City’s youngsters on Friday night.
Fellow first-teamer Ainsley Maitland-Niles also played the first half of the 4-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, with the pair replaced at half-time by Rob Holding and Reiss Nelson.
Arteta says that the quartet came through the fixture unscathed, and all are now in contention for the trip to Fratton Park.
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When questioned if Mari was ready for the first-team at a press conference on Saturday, Arteta said: “Yes, I think he need minutes, like Rob did, like Ainsley and like Reiss as well.
“I think it was a good game for them to get their fitness levels tested as well and they trained today really well. They are all, I think, ready to play.”
Arteta is targeting progress in the FA Cup after Arsenal’s disappointing exit to Olympiakos in the last-32 of the Europa League.
The Spaniard captained the Gunners to FA Cup success in 2014, and was also at the club when they won the trophy again in 2015.
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“It’s really special,” said Arteta.
“It’s probably once of the nicest games and days of the season when you play the final day in England, at Wembley, nice weather and an incredible atmosphere.
“And you know, it’s a trophy that’s been very much linked with our history. So we want to continue to be attached to that, knowing that on Monday night in Portsmouth, it will be tough.”
