'Get well soon Pablo Mari': Fans pray for Arsenal defender after he was stabbed in Milan supermarket attack
Arsenal defender Pablo Mari, who is on a season-long loan at Monza, was one of the six people stabbed during an attack in a Milan supermarket. Following the shocking incident, fans of the Spaniard have wished him a speedy recovery as he gears up to undergo surgery.
FollowIn what has sent shockwaves among football enthusiasts, Arsenal defender Pablo Mari was one of the six people stabbed during an attack in a Milan supermarket on Thursday night.Â
The Spaniard, who is on a season-long loan at Monza, is currently recovering in the Niguarda hospital, and his condition is not considered severe. On Friday, the 29-year-old will undergo surgery to repair the damaged muscles in his back.
According to reports, the Spaniard's wounds are not serious, but after spending the night in the hospital, he will have surgery on Friday to repair his torn muscles.
Reports added one of the other victims of the brutal attack, said to be an employee of the Carrefour supermarket, has passed away.Â
Quoted in the Gazzetta dello Sport, Mari said: "Today I was lucky, because I saw a person die in front of me."
The assailant, later identified as a 46-year-old male and detained by police, was seen stabbing another person in the throat, according to the Italian newspaper.Â
Mari had been walking through the store in Assago near Milan with his wife and son, who was in a cart, when he felt a pain in his back. Local reports say any terrorist motive for the attack has been ruled out.
Monza president Adriano Galliani, who visited Mari along with the Serie A side's head coach Raffaele Palladino, told Gazzetta: "Pablo is an amazing guy. He had the strength to joke and tell me that he will be back in training on Monday. I brought him greetings from (club president Silvio) Berlusconi and everyone else. His teammates wanted to come here but obviously it was not possible."
Speaking further about the attack, Galliani added: "It is shocking news. My thoughts are with the families – what happened today seems impossible for a city like Milan. It can't be possible that someone gets up in the morning to go to work and then loses their life because of the actions of a criminal."
Mari signed for Arsenal from Flamengo in 2020 and has made 19 appearances for the Gunners in all competitions. He spent part of last season on loan at Udinese after falling out of favour under Mikel Arteta before joining Monza for the current campaign.
"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," Arsenal said in a club statement on Thursday following their Europa League defeat at PSV Eindhoven.
"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."
Fans of Pablo Mari took to Twitter to wish the defender a speedy recovery. Here's a look at some of the reactions on the micro-blogging site:
