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Arsenal issue Pablo Mari update after defender is stabbed in Milan supermarket attack.
On-loan Arsenal defender Pablo Mari has been stabbed in a shopping centre attack in Milan, though the club has given an update about the player’s situation.
The Spanish centre-back, who is currently on loan at Serie A side Monza, was one of five people attacked in a supermarket in Milanofiori in Assago, a town in Milan.
Mari’s injuries had been the subject of various claims regarding their seriousness, but Arsenal has since stated that the 29-year-old is not gravely hurt.
A statement 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.’
When the news first broke, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was in the bench in Eindhoven watching Arsenal’s Europa League loss to PSV, but he was afterwards questioned about the condition of his countrymen.
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He replied: ‘I just found out, I know [technical director] Edu has been in touch with his family… he’s in hospital, he seems to be OK. Hopefully he’s OK.’
CEO of Monza Adriano Galliani provided an update on Mari’s condition while visiting the defender in the hospital with manager Raffaele Palladino.
He told TG2 RAI: ‘Pablo Mari has quite a deep cut to his back, but fortunately it did not reach any vital organs like the lungs or anything else.
‘His life is not in danger, he should recover quickly. He has some lesions, but not very serious. He is conscious and getting stitches.’
However, a 46-year-old man who has since been turned over to the neighbourhood police took up a knife from the supermarket shelves at around 6.30 p.m. and began randomly stabbing individuals, leaving two others in critical condition.
A witness told La Repubblica: ‘We were at the bar and we thought it was a robbery because we saw some boys and a lady running. Then we saw more and more people with upset faces and we realised that something serious had happened.’
Mari joined Arsenal in 2020, but he only made 12 Premier League games since he was unable to secure a starting position in Arteta’s squad.
He spent the second half of the 2021/22 season on loan with Udinese, then in the summer, he returned to Italy with Monza.