Arsenal have confirmed on-loan defender Pablo Mari is "not seriously hurt" after being stabbed in a supermarket in Italy.
Mari, 29, was one of six people to be stabbed in the frenzied attack in the town of Assago near Milan at around 5:30pm on Thursday. Five of the victims were taken to hospital and a 30-year-old man - an employee of the supermarket - has sadly passed away.
It's believed Mari was stabbed in the back and will undergo surgery on the wound, but the injury is not life-threatening. He was also punched in the face by the attacker and required stitches in his lip. Some of the other victims were seriously injured.
"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," read Arsenal's statement.
"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."
Mari's on-loan club Monza also released a statement. It read: "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."
Monza's CEO Adriano Galliani added: "Pablo Mari is not in danger as his injuries are not life-threatening. We hope to see him back soon."
Galliani also said: "Dear Pablo, we are all here close to you and your family, we love you, keep fighting as you know how to do, you are a warrior and you will get well soon."
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was asked for an update on Mari's condition after his team's 2-0 defeat to PSV Eindhoven on Thursday evening. "I just found out," he said. "I know Edu has been in touch with his relatives. He's in hospital, but he seems to be okay."
Italian police have arrested a 46-year-old man following the attack and have ruled out any terrorist motive. It's claimed the attacked suffers with mental health problems and was detained by several customers before police arrived to make the arrest.
An eye-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 Monza on loan in the summer and has made eight Serie A appearances for the club this season. He signed for Arsenal, initially on loan, in January 2020 and has played 22 games for the club. He was previously on the books at Manchester City.
The Spanish defender has played more than 300 games at club level since he came through the ranks at Mallorca more than a decade ago. He's also represented Gimnastic, Girona, NAC Breda, Deportivo La Coruna, Flamengo and Udinese during his career.
Mari was part of the Flamengo side that won the Brazilian league title and the Copa Libertadores - the biggest club prize in South American football - in 2019.
