Pablo Mari: Stabbing victim 'not seriously hurt' say Arsenal after attack in northern Italy

Arsenal say that their defender Pablo Mari is not seriously injured after he was one of the casualties of a knife attack in northern Italy

Arsenal defender Pablo Mari in action for Monza this season.

The 29-year-old Spaniard is on loan at Italian Serie A club Monza for the 2022/23 season and was caught up in the incident at a shopping centre in Assago on the outskirts of northern Milan, according to reports. Eyewitnesses say an employee of a Carrefour supermarket died after a man started attacking people indiscriminately. One person has died and five people, including Mari, have been taken to hospital. Sky Italy are reporting that police have arrested a 46-year-old man with a history of mental health problems and are ruling out terrorism.

A statement from Arsenal read: “We are all shocked to hear the dreadful news about the stabbing in Italy, which has put a number of people in hospital including our on-loan centre-back Pablo Mari. We have been in contact with Pablo’s agent who has told us he’s in hospital and is not seriously hurt. Our thoughts are with Pablo and the other victims of this dreadful incident.”

Monza president Adriano Galliani was quoted by Sky Sports Italy as saying: "Pablo Mari had a fairly deep wound on his back, which fortunately did not touch vital organs such as the lungs or others. His life is not in danger, he should recover quickly."

Mari joined Arsenal in the summer of 2020 from Brazilian club Flamengo and made 12 first-team appearances for the English Premier League club before being loaned to Monza at the start of the current campaign.