Is his error against Brighton the final nail in the coffin for Kepa Arrizabalaga?
Chelsea have spent an extortionate amount of money improving their squad this summer, including £150 million being splashed on attacking German duo Kai Havertz and Timo Werner, and a further £50m on English left-back Ben Chilwell.
Thiago Silva and Malang Sarr were also brought in for free, with the former set to strengthen the Blues’ central defensive, which was way below par last season.
Following Kepa Arrizabalaga’s poor performances last term, Chelsea boss Frank Lampard was expected to recruit a goalkeeper. However, despite being heavily linked with several keepers, and Edouard Mendy seemingly on the horizon, this is yet to happen.
The Blues’ gaffer kept his faith in the world’s most expensive goalie, selecting him over veteran Willy Caballero in their first Premier League game of the 2020/21 season against Brighton, but again, the Spaniard was at fault for the Seagulls’ early second half equaliser, failing to keep out Leonardo Trossard’s shot from distance.
Luckily for the 25-year-old, goals from Reece James and Kurt Zouma led to Chelsea, who were heavily backed pre-match in the betting exchange, winning 3-1, but it wasn’t enough to stop him from coming under fire once again, with Sky Sports pundit, and former Manchester United right-back, Gary Neville claiming the Blues won’t be able to win the league with the Spanish international between the sticks.
“You won’t win the league with a keeper who is letting goals in from outside his box, doesn’t dominate his area concedes from set pieces, it’s not going to happen,” the former Valencia boss claimed.
Damningly for Kepa, the shot which squeezed under him from outside the box, was the 19th he has conceded from outside of the penalty area since he arrived in south west London two years ago – which is more than any other keeper in the Premier League in that same time period. Moreover, the Spaniard has conceded a whopping nine goals from the last 13 shots on target that he has had to face in England’s topflight.
Lampard was believed to be at the end of tether with Kepa last season, and even left him out in favour of using Caballero for a stretch of games. It was expected that he would be replaced as Chelsea number 1 this summer, however, despite yet another mistake, it now it seems that the Blues’ leading goal scorer is ‘very happy’ with the shot stopper.
“Not at the moment, but it’s some weeks to go until the end of the window. Very happy with Kepa. With the shot I’m not sure if he could have done better.
“If we bring in competition then it’s for competition. That’s the nature of Chelsea.” Lampard said.
Maybe the Blues’ gaffer is hoping that the imminent arrival of Senegal international Mendy from Ligue 1 side Rennes, who would be considered direct competition for Kepa, will spur him into action.
If you look at the Premier League winners of recent years, like Liverpool and Manchester City, they have had world class goalkeepers between the sticks, who are capable of single-handedly securing points, and, Lampard himself is no stranger to having the influence of a great keeper in a side, having played alongside Petr Čech for years.
So, whether Mendy is coming to take Kepa’s starting spot, or maybe even rival him for it, something will need to change at the back for Lampard’s side if they want to be considered contenders for the league title.