Former Tottenham Hotspur player turned TV pundit Jamie O’Hara has expressed his rather unflattering opinion about Chelsea’s second-choice goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, saying that Chelsea do not stand a chance to win the Premier League with the Spaniard in goal.
O’Hara pointed out that the former Athletic Bilbao custodian is prone to errors, and does not provide a stable option that is essential for any club that has intentions of winning what is perhaps the toughest league in the world.
Arrizabalaga signed for Chelsea in 2018 for a record fee for a goalkeeper, as he set the Roman Abramovich-owned club a staggering 72 million Euros. His tenure at the club has not been what he would have hoped for, hardly playing after a fallout with former manager Maurizio Sarri in what was an extremely embarrassing incident for all parties involved.
Kepa has made some shocking errors on more than one occasion, which is the major reason he has fallen down the ranks at the club, leading to his gradual descent into becoming Chelsea’s second-choice goalkeeper, behind the Senegalese Edouard Mendy, who has been outstanding over the past few months.
Mendy is slated to be a part of the AFCON tournament, which is scheduled to take place between January 9 and February 6. In all likelihood, this will mean that Kepa will have to take charge of the goalkeeper’s spot for the entire duration of Mendy’s absence.
However, Chelsea can breath a little easier considering that post the arrival of manager Thomas Tuchel, Kepa has been quite sound, and has not committed as many howlers as he earlier had a tendency for.
Kepa wielded the gloves for Chelsea’s final Champions League group stage game Zenit St.Petersburg, where despite conceding three goals, he was impressive, pulling off a few stunning saves, and also emerging on top in the face of a couple of one-on-one situations.
Tuchel’s decision of starting Kepa in the Champions League encounter was maybe a subtle indication that he plans on backing him through Mendy’s absence, and therefore gave him a few crucial minutes to get into match fitness.
However, O’Hara was not convinced of Kepa’s capabilities despite his recent performance and maintained that Chelsea would struggle in the Premier League, in the event that Mendy is unable to play.
