Arsenal defender Pablo Marí in hospital after Milan supermarket stabbing

A 46-year-old Italian man was arrested after the incident in the Milano Fiori shopping centre in the Assago area of the northern Italian city on Thursday evening. Police said the suspect suffered from mental health problems and have so far ruled out terrorism.

Two people are reported to be in a serious condition; Mari is not among them, although he was taken to a hospital in Milan. Speaking after Arsenal's 2-0 Europa League defeat at PSV Eindhoven, Mikel Arteta said the club had been in contact with Mari's family.

"I know Edu has been in touch with his relatives," the manager said of the club's technical director. "He's in hospital but seems to be OK. We're having a briefing now, we'll be in touch and hopefully he will be OK."

An Arsenal statement subsequently read: "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."

Monza's president, Adriano Galliani, released a statement via the club's Twitter account, which read: "Dear Pablo, we are all here close to you and your family, we love you, keep fighting as you know how to do, you are a warrior and you will get well soon."

The attacker allegedly grabbed a knife from a display stand in Carrefour before randomly stabbing people, including a 30-year-old male employee of the supermarket chain, the Italian news agency, Ansa reported. He reportedly died while being taken to hospital.

The people who were caught up in the attack are aged between 28 and 81.

One witness told Ansa: "Now that we are far away, we are calmer. But we were really terrified. We did not understand what was happening, we saw people running away in tears."

Another described the attack like "a scene from an American film". "We were at the bar and thought it was a robbery because we saw some men and a woman running," the witness said. "Then we saw more people with distraught faces and we realised that something serious had happened."

Mari is on a season-long loan at Monza, who are 15th in Serie A. He has played eight games this season, scoring one goal. The Spaniard joined Arsenal from Flamengo in 2020 after an initial loan spell and has made 22 appearances for the Premier League club.