Arsenal footballer Pablo Mari has spoken out for the first time, after falling victim to a horrific knife attack while out shopping at an Italian supermarket.
Mari who is currently on loan at Serie A sie Monza, was shopping with his wife and son at the Assago Shopping centre, when a man attacked him and five other people with a knife.
The man was subsequently arrested by police. It was reported that he had been suffering with mental health issues.
One man in his 30s, working as a cashier at the supermarket, was killed in the attack according to reports from Sky Italy.
Mari suffered knife wounds and was rushed to hospital, where his condition was reported as not serious. He is awaiting surgery to reduce the muscle damage to his back.
It has been reported that Mari was “saved” from further damage due to his 6ft 4inch height. He is currently being treated at Niguarda Hospital.
“Today I was lucky”
Following the incident, Mari spoke to Italian media where he revealed that watched the cashier die in front of him.
“Today I was lucky, because I saw a person die in front of me”, Mari said.
Three other people were taken to hospital, and one suffered injuries but did not require hospital treatment.
Mari’s current club Monza, have made a request for their next league match against Bolonga to be postponed, following the “shock” over the news.
“Pablo Mari had a fairly deep wound on his back, which fortunately did not touch vital organs such as the lungs or others”, the club’s chief executive Adriano Gallini said.
“His life is not in danger, he should recover quickly”.
Speaking about the trauma that this incident has caused, Pablo Mari’s father who is also called Pablo, revealed that his “heart nearly failed”, when he heard that his son was injured in a knife attack.
“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”, Pablo Mari’s father told a Spanish radio station.
He also added, “It was all just a fright and not much more… and she saw someone die in front of her”.
Mari’s parent club Arsenal have also released this statement.
Our thoughts are with Pablo Mari and the other victims of today's dreadful incident in Italy.
We have been in contact with Pablo’s agent who has told us he’s in hospital and is not seriously hurt.
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 27, 2022
