One of the victims – reported to be the 30-year-old – has since passed away. Two elderly women are said to be in a less serious condition, while Mari was airlifted to Niguarda Hospital and is conscious.
He has received visits from the managing director of Monza, Adriano Galliani, and coach Raffaele Palladino.
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 other.
‘His life is not in danger, he should recover quickly,’ Galliani added.
Local media reported that a 30-year-old supermarket cashier died after a man started attacking people in Assago.
Among the injured was Pablo Marí, a football player on loan from Arsenal.
A 46-year-old suspect has been detained. Police have ruled out any terrorist motive.
Reports say the attacker has had mental health problems and had grabbed the weapon from the supermarket shelves.
The man started stabbing people at random at about 18:30 local time (16:30 GMT) at a Carrefour in a local shopping centre.
Screams were reportedly heard inside the centre, as terrified visitors tried to flee in panic.
The attacker is reported to have been detained by several customers and handed over to police who arrived at the scene.
Marí, a 29-year-old Spanish defender, suffered a stab wound to the back – but his injuries are not life-threatening. His agent, Arturo Canales, told the BBC that the star was conscious and no vital organs had been affected.
Monza CEO Adriano Galliani told Sky Italia that Marí had been shopping with his wife and young son when the attack took place.
“He had his son in a trolley and his wife next to him. He didn’t notice anything. He then felt something painful in his back, which was the criminal’s knife,” Mr Galliani said.
“Unfortunately, he also saw the criminal stab someone in the throat. He saw everything that happened and it was deeply disturbing,” Galliani added.
While the executive said the defender had suffered a “fairly deep wound on his back”, he said his life was not in danger and that he “should recover quickly”.
Marí joined Arsenal from Brazilian side Flamengo in January 2020. He has only played 19 times for the Gunners and is currently on loan with top flight Italian club Monza.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said: “I just found out. I know Edu [Arsenal technical director] has been in touch with his relatives. He’s in hospital but he seems to be okay.”
Monza CEO Adriano Galliani: “Pablo Marì is not in danger as his injuries are not life-threatening. We hope to see him back soon”.
The attack took place in a Carrefour supermarket at the Milanofiori di Assago shopping mall, to the south of Milan, around 6.30pm Thursday when a 46-year-old man – believed to have mental health issues – grabbed a knife from the shelves and began attacking people with it. Police have ruled out terrorism as a motive.
A 30-year-old checkout assistant was fatally stabbed while 29-year-old Mari – on loan to Italian club Monza from the north London side – was punched in the face and stabbed in the back, Monza chief Adriano Galliani said.
Galliani revealed the sportsman was standing next to wife Veronica and had four-year-old son Pablo in a trolley in front of him when he ‘felt something painful’ and realised he had been stabbed. The family then witnessed the attacker knife someone in the throat, Mr Galliani added, describing the ordeal as ‘deeply disturbing’.
Mari has a ‘fairly deep wound’ to his back but the knife missed the player’s vital organs thanks to his 6ft 4ins height which ‘saved’ him, Mr Galliani added. Veronica and Pablo also witnessed the attack, though were not injured.
Mari is now in hospital in Milan where he is expected to undergo surgery to reduce muscle damage to his back, though his condition is described as non-life-threatening.
Speaking to Spanish radio station Cadena Cope last night, Mari’s father – also called Pablo – said that he first found out about the incident at 8pm and his son had told them he was ‘fine’ and that he ‘loved them very much.’
He added: ‘I didn’t know anything. I wasn’t watching TV or anything and family members started calling over and over… and my heart nearly failed.’
‘[Veronica] just told us they were taking him to the hospital and nothing more. After she said don’t call [son] Pablo, he is by her side and he’s feeling well, it was all just a fright… and she saw someone die in front of her.’
Mari was walking with his wife Veronica and their little son in the supermarket, according to Riformista.
The 29-year-old Spaniard, who is currently on loan playing for Italian football club Monza, was one of six people attacked near Milan. Four men, aged 28, 30, 40 and 80, were reportedly left in a serious condition in the attack, with a cashier rushed to a hospital in Rozzano.
GOALSTUDIO
Arsenal loanee Pablo Mari and five others stabbed in Milan shopping centre
Giorgio Dusi
Oct 27, 2022 20:14+01:00
Pablo Mari 2022-23Getty Images
Pablo Marí
Arsenal
Monza
Arsenal loanee Pablo Mari, currently at Monza, was one of six people stabbed in a shopping centre in Milan on Thursday.
At leasat six stabbed in Milan
Mari among the six
Awake at hospital
WHAT HAPPENED? The incident which led to the 29-year-old’s stabbing occurred at around 5:30pm in Milan’s Milanofiori di Assago shopping centre. Despite being injured in the attack, GOAL understands that Mari is awake at Niguarda hospital.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Numerous reports in Italy have claimed that the 46-year-old man who stabbed Mari and the five other people took a knife from the shelves and used it to injure those shopping around him.
WHAT ARSENAL SAID: “I know that Edu (Arsenal’s sporting director) is in contact with his relatives, he seems to be doing well,” manager Mikel Arteta told reporters on Thursday.
In a statement, Arsenal wrote: “Our thoughts are with Pablo and the other victims of this dreadful incident.”
WHAT MONZA SAID: Monza CEO Adriano Galliani added: “Pablo Mari is not in danger as his injuries are not life-threatening. We hope to see him back soon.”
AND WHAT’S MORE: An eyewitness 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.”
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