Arsenal defender Pablo Mari has revealed he saw a man die while shopping with his wife and son, before being stabbed in a supermarket attack in Italy.
The Spaniard, who is currently on loan at Serie A outfit Monza, was one of six people attacked by a 46-year-old man in a Carrefour near Milan. All of the victims were airlifted to hospital. Sadly, it has been confirmed that one person in their 30s has died from injuries sustained in the attack.
The attacker is believed to have taken a knife from the shelves of the store before brave shoppers intervened to stop him. Various reports have outlined that the attacker has had mental health problems.
It has been confirmed that Mari was stabbed in the back but is not in a serious condition. The 29-year-old is set to undergo surgery for a 'deep cut' on Friday.
Monza CEO Adriano Galliani and coach Raffaele Palladino travelled to the hospital immediately after the incident, and Galliani has shed some more light on what happened after speaking with Mari at the hospital.
According to Gazzetta Dello Sport, Mari is quoted as saying to Galliani and Palladino: "I was with the trolley with my child inside and I felt an excruciating pain in my back. Then that man stabbed another in the throat.
"I had suerte [luck]. I saw a person die in front of me."
Galliani himself also said: "Pablo is an amazing guy. He had the strength to joke, telling me that he will be on the field on Monday. I brought him greetings from President Berlusconi and everyone. The comrades, who would have liked to come here even though, obviously, it was not possible."
He added: "From a psychological point of view it seems to me that there are no problems, even if I am not a doctor."
"This is shocking news," he continued. "I send a message of closeness and affection. to his family, what happened today seems paradoxical for a city like Milan. It is not possible for someone to get up in the morning to go to work and then lose their life to the fault of a criminal."
Mari was also with his partner at the time of the attack, and his father spoke to Spanish radio station Cadena Cope after speaking with them. He said: "These have been very worrying hours for us. They started calling me at 8pm and my heart has skipped a beat.
"Veronica [Mari's partner] has not told us how it happened, but she has told us that she has seen a person die in front of her. She has reassured us confirming that they are fine and that everything has been a fright for them."
An official Monza statement released on Thursday night 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."
Arsenal also released a statement after their Europa League match with PSV Eindhoven which 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."
