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Arsenal goal celebration pays tribute to Pablo Marí after supermarket stabbing

Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League on Sunday with a commanding 5-0 victory over Nottingham Forest at the Emirates, and the Gunners dedicated their win to on-loan defender Pablo Marí, who was stabbed Thursday during an attack in an Italian supermarket that left one dead and five injured.

Marí made 19 appearances for Arsenal between 2020 and 2021, but he was loaned to Udinese last season before joining newly promoted Monza on loan this campaign. The 29-year-old center back made eight appearances, scoring against Spezia on Oct. 9, but was stabbed in the back in Assago, a town near Milan, during a knife attack in which the assailant was ultimately disarmed by former Roma executive Massimo Tarantino.

Marí required reconstructive surgery on two muscles in his back and faces at least three months of recovery time. The Spaniard was discharged from hospital on Sunday morning with Monza confirming he had returned home to begin a period of rest.

In London, Marí's parent club paid tribute before the match against Forest.

The Gunners then opened the scoring in the fifth-minute through Gabriel Martinelli and the team celebrated with Marí's No. 22 Arsenal shirt. 

That was all the first-half goalscoring, but Arsenal got four more in the second 45.

Reiss Nelson, who'd replaced the injured Bukayo Saka in the 27th minute, scored Arsenal's second.

Three minutes later, Nelson got his second and Arsenal's third. 

The fourth was an unstoppable drive from Thomas Partey.  

Martin Ødegaard completed the scoring with 12 minutes to go.  

Arsenal has a two-point lead over Manchester City at the top. The Gunners play Zurich in the Europa League on Thursday and then it's a trip to Stamford Bridge to play fifth-place Chelsea on Sunday, Nov. 6.  

Nottingham Forest is bottom of the table with a goal difference of negative 20. They host 11th-place Brentford on Saturday.

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