London, Oct 28 (IANS): Arsenal player Pablo Mari, who is currently on loan with Serie A side Monza, was the victim of a heinous attack on Thursday as he was stabbed in a shopping mall in Assago, Italy.
Mari was among five people taken to hospital, with one of them - a man aged 30- dying later. A sixth victim did not need hospital treatment.
According to a report in Sky Sports, Mari, who is understood to be conscious and not in a serious condition, was among six people attacked at a shopping centre in the Italian city.
Confirming the news, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has said that Mari "seems to be OK".
"I know (club technical director) Edu has been in touch with his relatives," said Arteta after Thursday's 2-0 defeat at PSV Eindhoven in the Europa League.
"He is in hospital. He seems to be ok. I will get a briefing now about what happened."
Arsenal issued a club statement on Thursday night: "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."
The agent of the on-loan Arsenal player confirmed that the injuries sustained by Mari weren't serious. Monza Chief Adriano Galliani told Sky Italy, as quoted by Reuters, that Mari had a fairly deep wound on his back but his life is not in danger and the Spanish international should recover quickly.
"Pablo Mari had a fairly deep wound on his back, which fortunately did not touch his vital organs such as the lungs or others. His life is not in danger, he should recover quickly," Galliani was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
Mari joined Arsenal in January 2020, initially on loan, before making his move permanent during the summer transfer window that year. Since then, the Spanish defender has been sent out on loans to Udinese and Monza, where he will be spending the 2022-23 season.