Pablo Mari's attacker was disarmed by hero footballer who was Diego Maradona's team-mate

Diego Maradona’s former team-mate, Massimo Tarantino, was the one who disarmed the assailant who attacked Arsenal player Pablo Mari and five others at a shopping centre in Italy

15:38, 28 Oct 2022Updated 16:22, 28 Oct 2022

Diego Maradona’s former team-mate disarmed the assailant who attacked Pablo Mari and five others at a shopping centre in Italy.

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Massimo Tarantino, who played with the Argentine legend at Napoli, was on hand to step in to defend the Arsenal player when a knife-wielding attacker stabbed him in the back.

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Mari was with his family at the time in Assago, Italy, and was airlifted to the hospital after the attack at 6:30pm on Thursday.

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Indeed, five others were stabbed, with a 30-year-old supermarket cashier tragically losing his life in the attack.

Mari, who is on-loan at Serie A side Monza, is thought to be making full recovery after undergoing surgery.

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Massimo Tarantino when he was playing for Inter Milan in 1996(Image: Getty Images)

Tarantino was on hand to come to his aid when the attacker let loose on his victims. Though the former player said that he was no hero.

He said: “I didn't do anything in particular, I'm not a hero."

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Mari gives a thumbs up from his hospital bed(Image: Instagram @pablomv5)

27 Nov 1999: Sandro Cois of Fiorentina challenges Massimo Tarantino of Bologna during the Italian Serie A match against Bolonga played in Bologna, Italy. \\ Mandatory Credit: Claudio Villa /Allsport

Massimo Tarantino had a spell at Bologna as well(Image: Getty Images)

Tarantino played for the likes of Napoli, Inter Milan, and Bologna, even at one point playing with Maradona as a team-mate.

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He also spoke about how the suspect, named Andrea Tombolini who was believed to pick up a knife from a supermarket shelf before the spree, was screaming when he attacked the five victims.

The scene where Mari was stabbed(Image: IPA/FOTOGRAMMA / SplashNews.com)

He is now in custody.

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Monza chief Adriano Galliano cracked wise that Mari would be back on the pitch Monday, saying that he is in good spirits.

He said: "Pablo is an amazing guy. He had the strength to joke and tell me that he will be back in training on Monday. I brought him greetings from [club president Silvio] Berlusconi and everyone else."

Diego Maradona from Argentina celebrates after scoring his second goal against England in a quarterfinal match of the 1986 FIFA World Cup. (Photo by Jean-Yves Ruszniewski/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)

Diego Maradona played alongside the recent hero

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BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JULY 16: Pablo Mari of Arsenal during a pre season friendly between Arsenal and Everton at M&T Bank Stadium on July 16, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Pablo Mari is on loan at Monza from Arsenal(Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

In a tweet said: "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."

An Arsenal statement read: "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 the hospital and is not seriously hurt.

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"Our thoughts are with Pablo and the other victims of this dreadful incident."

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