Arsenal Defender Pablo Mari Stabbed During Brutal Attack In Italy, 1 Dead

Arsenal said the club's 29-year-old defender, Pablo Mari, was hospitalized in Italy after being stabbed Thursday, an incident in which another person died. Mari is on loan at Monza from Arsenal and was one of five people stabbed in an incident in a shopping center in Milan.

In a statement, Arsenal confirmed the incident and stated Mari's injuries were considered non-fatal, ESPN reported. The statement said that the football club was shocked to hear the terrible news which has sent some people to hospital, including their on-loan centre-back Mari. They added that they have reached out to the footballer's agent who told them he's in hospital and assured them that was not seriously hurt.

BBC reported that a 30-year-old supermarket cashier sustained fatal injuries after a man began attacking people in Assago. A 46-year-old suspect has been arrested, and the authorities have ruled out any terrorist motive. Reports said the assailant was suffering from mental health issues and had grabbed the weapon from the supermarket racks. Then, the male suspect started stabbing people at random at about 06:30 p.m. local time (16:30 GMT) at a Carrefour in a local shopping center. People inside the center were heard screaming while terrified visitors tried to flee in panic.

Mari was shopping with his wife and son when the rampage took place.

Monza's CEO Adriano Galliani and coach Raffaele Palladino immediately headed to the hospital after what happened. Galliani spoke after his visit and said what the player had told him. He explained, Mari felt lucky because he watched someone die in front of him and that he had his baby inside the trolley. The player felt excruciating pain in his back then saw this man stab a person in the throat, in front of him. The footballer added that he was fine and that he would be on the field Monday.

A report Monza on Friday revealed the extent of Mari's injuries. It said that the specialists of the General Surgery-Trauma Team of the Niguarda Hospital in Milan performed a surgery to reconstruct the two injured muscles on Marí's back, Mirror reported.

Marí joined Arsenal from Brazilian side Flamengo in January 2020. The defender has played 19 times for the Gunners and is presently on loan with top flight Italian club Monza.