Arsenal's number-one shot stopper, Aaron Ramsdale has for the first time opened up about the situation he faced during the Premier League title race.
The Englishman was speaking in an interview with the Players' Tribune where he confirmed that his wife had a miscarriage on their way back from the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Aaron Ramsdale confirmed that the only escape route he had during that trying time was football despite the effort of Mikel Arteta wanting him to take a break. Three days later, he played for Arsenal at the White Hart Lane stadium to face Tottenham.
"After the high of climbing to the top of the Premier League table and going off to my first World Cup, my wife and I found out that we were expecting our first child. Mikel gave me a few extra days off after the World Cup, so we went on a brief holiday. It was genuinely the happiest time of our lives. And yeah there’s no easy way to say this, but I feel like it’s important that people know. On the flight home, my wife had a miscarriage. There’s really no way that I can describe the pain of that six-hour flight back to London, even now. I just want people out there to know that they’re not alone if they’re going through it themselves. When we got back, I didn’t tell many people what happened. Only my family, my teammates, and of course Mikel."
He added that he needed to be available for the game against Spurs so he can take his mind off the situation.
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"Three days later, we were playing Spurs in the derby, and for me that was the only way to get my mind off things. Football has always been my escape. I told the manager I wanted to play. It couldn’t have been a better night. We won 2–0 under the floodlights, and our away fans were going absolutely ballistic. If you watch the match back, you can see me beaming at the final kick of the ball."
Ramsdale has revealed that his wife, Georgina, is now pregnant again and he hopes by sharing his story he can help others who have experienced the pain of a miscarriage.
