Aaron Ramsdale has bravely opened up about his wife Georgina suffering a miscarriage on a flight back to London in the weeks following last year's World Cup.

The Arsenal goalkeeper played in the North London derby just three days after the tragedy and kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 win at Tottenham.

Mikel Arteta offered Ramsdale compassionate leave, with the 25-year-old stopper explaining in an interview with The Players' Tribune how the Gunners boss helped make sure he and his family were OK.

The England international said: "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. 

"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."

Ramsdale added: "When we got back, I didn't tell many people what happened. Only my family, my team-mates and of course Mikel. 

"He was fantastic about everything. Even in the middle of the title race, with so much pressure on the club, he asked me if I needed some time off to deal with everything.

"Mikel went above and beyond to make sure me and my family were OK. For me, that's a manager. 

"He cares so much about his players and he forever has my respect for how he handled our grief."