Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has revealed he was still coming to terms with his wife's miscarriage as he was assaulted after last season's north London derby win at Tottenham.
The 25-year-old had kept a clean sheet as the Gunners won 2-0 at the home of their neighbours on January 15 to keep their Premier League title ambitions alive.
As Ramsdale collected his water bottle from behind the goal, Spurs fan Joseph Watts leapt onto the advertising hoarding and aimed a boot at his back. Watts was eventually given a four-year banning order having been charged with assault and throwing a missile onto the pitch.
Speaking immediately after the game, Ramsdale told Sky Sports: "It's a shame because it's just a game of football at the end of the day. I think both sets of players tried to bring me away. Thankfully nothing actually happened too drastic. It's a sour taste."
Now the England international has explained that he was already dealing with pain in his private life before the incident at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
"There are things that go on in our lives that the public has no idea about, and the past year has been an emotional rollercoaster for me and my family," he wrote for The Players' Tribune.
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
