Gary Lineker has taken to Twitter after Pablo Mari was stabbed in a supermarket near Milan during his loan spell away from Arsenal at Monza.
Pablo Mari involved in supermarket attack
Well, this is simply horrific news involving the Spaniard.
According to Sky Sports, Mari was stabbed in the back whilst walking around a supermarket in Assago with his wife and son, who was sat in a trolley at the time of the attack.
The £14m Arsenal man was one of six people who were attacked, with one victim – believed to be an employee at the supermarket – tragically suffering fatal injuries.
Mari is currently recovering in a Niguarda-based hospital, where he is due to have surgery on his back at some stage today.
After hearing the news, Lineker posted the following on Twitter.
Following the incident, Gazzetta dello Sport quote Mari as saying: “Today I was lucky, because I saw a person die in front of me.”
Mikel Arteta was also quizzed on what happened in Milan after Arsenal suffered a 2-0 defeat to PSV Eindhoven in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
Sky Sports quote the Spaniard as saying: “I know Edu has been in touch with his relatives. He is in hospital. He seems to be ok. I will get a briefing now about what happened.”
Mari was supposedly saved by the fact he is 6ft 4in – the defender suffered a very deep wound, although his injuries are not thought to be life threatening, and he is currently conscious.
Adriano Galliani, CEO of Monza, even claimed that the 29-year-old wants to be available to face Bologna on Monday night, saying: “Pablo is so strong. He said he’ll be playing on Monday evening.”
Pablo Mari fortunate to be alive
It sounds as if the Arsenal centre-back suffered a very, very close shave, and is lucky to be alive.
Of course, much of the focus will be on Mari given his status as a professional footballer, although we must also pay tribute to the other victims as well, including the innocent supermarket employee who sadly lost their life.
Hopefully, those who survived the disturbing attack along with Mari will make a full recovery.
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