Knife attack in Milan: I saw a man in front of me die, says shocked Monza footballer

Italian society as well as football is shocked by the attack of a 46-year-old Italian man with a knife in a shopping center in Assago, outside Milanand specifically in a well-known supermarket chain, where five people were injured -three in a serious condition-, while one worker lost his life.

The attacker grabbed a knife from one of the store’s shelves – which was especially busy due to the Placebo concert – and stabbed the customers indiscriminately.

Among the injured is Monza’s centre-back, Pablo Mari -on loan from Arsenal-who was at the scene with his wife and child.

Immediately after the bloody incident, he was taken to Milan’s “Niguarda” hospital, where both Monza’s coach, Raffaele Palladino, and the executive director of the Serie A newcomers, Adriano Galliani, rushed.

According to the reports, Arsenal loanee in Monza, Mari, suffered a back injury, luckily no vital organs were damaged and his life is not in danger.

“I saw a man die in front of me”

The 29-year-old ace described what tragically happened in the supermarket to Monza’s managing director, Adriano Galliani, who in turn recounted it to the Italian “Gazzetta dello Sport”.

Marie declared herself lucky to be alive, saying: “I was in the stroller with my child in it and I felt an unbearable pain in my back. Then this man stabbed another in the neck. Today I was lucky to be alive, because I saw a man die in front of me».

As the team’s chief executive explained, Marie was stabbed just inches away from his lung and also suffered a wound to the mouth.

Although the young footballer will undergo surgery, Galliani revealed that he is in good spirits and even joked that he will be back on the field on Monday: “Pablo is an amazing guy. He had the nerve to joke and tell me he’ll be back training on Monday.”.

Arsenal: Our thoughts are with Pablo

“Our thoughts are with Pablo Mari and the other victims of today’s horrific incident in Italy. We have contacted Pablo’s agent, who has told us that he is in hospital and is not seriously injured,” Arsenal, the player’s club, said in a statement.

Furthermore, he adds: “Pablo is one of the best footballers to come through Arsenal. We were all shocked to hear the terrible news about the stabbing in Italy, which has sent several people to hospital, including our on-loan centre-back Pablo Mari.”

For his part, Gunners manager Mikel Arteta, speaking after his side’s 2-0 defeat by PSV, added: “I just found out. I know Edu has been in touch with his relatives. He’s in the hospital, but he seems to be fine.”

The employee died of a heart attack

Gazzetta dello Sport initially reported that Mari was in a serious condition but was believed to make a full recoverywhile the 30-year-old store employee died of cardiac arrest after being stabbed in the chest and abdomen.

According to Italian police officials, the attack is not believed to be terror-related, and a 46-year-old man has already been arrested by local police.