Kepa Arrizabalaga

[Vesper 27,310]

Kepa Arrizabalaga 'ready to fight for Chelsea future'

By Matt Law, Football Editor | 1m

https://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/chelsea/transfer-talk/news/kepa-arrizabalaga-ready-to-fight-for-chelsea-future_393330.html

Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is reportedly not interested in leaving Stamford Bridge this summer.

The 25-year-old has struggled for consistency since joining the Blues from Athletic Bilbao in August 2018 and has conceded 43 times in 33 appearances at club level this term.

Kepa recently lost his starting role at club level to Willy Caballero, although he did return for his side's last Premier League clash at home to Everton earlier this month.

There continues to be speculation surrounding the Spain international, but according to the Daily Mail, Kepa is determined to stay and fight for his future.

The same report claims that the stopper is confident that he has the support of the club's hierarchy despite being removed from the starting XI by head coach Frank Lampard.

Kepa, who has a contract at Stamford Bridge until June 2025, has conceded 32 times in 25 Premier League appearances this season.

 

snip

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Mark Bosnich on Kepa...

https://www.goal.com/en-sg/news/chelsea-should-stick-with-kepa-says-bosnich/1l6hxdasfzs8y1ujt87qvwggip

"I was probably in the minority as a goalkeeper as I didn't mind competition for places," Bosnich told Goal. "I thought being a goalkeeper was the same as any position that if you are not playing well, then it is understandable that someone else comes in.

"With Kepa, it is a little bit different because of the price tag that surrounds him but it wasn't Frank Lampard who bought him. It was somebody else. I was impressed with the way he came back but he has been struggling a little bit this season.

"It is completely understandable as a manager if someone is not doing it for you at a big club you think somewhere else. There are stories around about Donnarumma or Onana but with any goalkeeper you talk about purchasing, especially from abroad, there's nothing like playing the position in England.

"There's more physical challenges on the crosses that you get in England than anywhere else in the world. You have to be careful. I am not privy to what's gone on behind the scenes but if a manager-player relationship breaks down, then that's a different matter.

"I just think it was down to his form which in terms of the standard when he first came, it hasn't been up to scratch this season. Frank was well within his rights to leave him out when he did but I thought he did well when he came back.

"I rate Kepa, I thought he was a superb shot-stopper with good agility and his kicking was okay for me. I think people make too much of his problems with distribution but the first job is to keep the ball out of the net. Kicking is a bonus.

"In terms of dominating his box, he is young and slight so it has taken time to get to grips with that. That's something they need to work on. For me, he has not been a disaster in any sense of the word. He has done okay so far.

"It is difficult to follow Petr Cech in their most successful era at the club. Then you have Thibaut Courtois, who was exceptional as well. I believe that Kepa has the ability given time to get to that level."

[Vesper 27,310]

8 hours ago, Jason said:

Mark Bosnich on Kepa...

https://www.goal.com/en-sg/news/chelsea-should-stick-with-kepa-says-bosnich/1l6hxdasfzs8y1ujt87qvwggip

"I was probably in the minority as a goalkeeper as I didn't mind competition for places," Bosnich told Goal. "I thought being a goalkeeper was the same as any position that if you are not playing well, then it is understandable that someone else comes in.

"With Kepa, it is a little bit different because of the price tag that surrounds him but it wasn't Frank Lampard who bought him. It was somebody else. I was impressed with the way he came back but he has been struggling a little bit this season.

"It is completely understandable as a manager if someone is not doing it for you at a big club you think somewhere else. There are stories around about Donnarumma or Onana but with any goalkeeper you talk about purchasing, especially from abroad, there's nothing like playing the position in England.

"There's more physical challenges on the crosses that you get in England than anywhere else in the world. You have to be careful. I am not privy to what's gone on behind the scenes but if a manager-player relationship breaks down, then that's a different matter.

"I just think it was down to his form which in terms of the standard when he first came, it hasn't been up to scratch this season. Frank was well within his rights to leave him out when he did but I thought he did well when he came back.

"I rate Kepa, I thought he was a superb shot-stopper with good agility and his kicking was okay for me. I think people make too much of his problems with distribution but the first job is to keep the ball out of the net. Kicking is a bonus.

"In terms of dominating his box, he is young and slight so it has taken time to get to grips with that. That's something they need to work on. For me, he has not been a disaster in any sense of the word. He has done okay so far.

"It is difficult to follow Petr Cech in their most successful era at the club. Then you have Thibaut Courtois, who was exceptional as well. I believe that Kepa has the ability given time to get to that level."

his distribution last year was really good

this year, not so much

the problem is also that we are so spoilt with keepers over the past 15 plus years

Cech was the best EPL keeper ever and Cuntois was WC at times

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1 hour ago, Vesper said:

his distribution last year was really good

this year, not so much

There was more emphasis on playing out from the back under Sarri. Less so under Lampard, which may have contributed to the inconsistent distribution. 

[milka 3,308]

 

[NikkiCFC 7,580]

1 hour ago, milka said:

 

Expected and I am happy about this. But we need to replace Willy with good GK who will push Kepa. 

[OneMoSalah 8,614]

Still think in the 2 seasons hes been at the club hes been good. He has had a bad period where he made mistakes/looked poor but Cech had that, Courtois had that.. Kepa wont be the last Chelsea GK to make mistakes. Also at other clubs Lloris had it, De Gea has had it, Ederson has had it.... Alisson if he hasnt will have a spell eventually. GKs make mistakes too.

[Tomo 21,681]

4 hours ago, OneMoSalah said:

Still think in the 2 seasons hes been at the club hes been good. He has had a bad period where he made mistakes/looked poor but Cech had that, Courtois had that.. Kepa wont be the last Chelsea GK to make mistakes. Also at other clubs Lloris had it, De Gea has had it, Ederson has had it.... Alisson if he hasnt will have a spell eventually. GKs make mistakes too.

What worried me about him this season wasn't that his weaknesses came to the fore, it was that he wasn't doing the things he was suppose to be good at very well either.

I knew about and accepted the ariel weakness from day one, the best we will ever get from him in that regard is acceptable, it was his decline in distribution and save percentage that was the huge problem.

However I think he will get another chance now as the pandemic has likely slashed our budget in ways we don't want to admit, the Liverpool and Everton games offer hope that his rut was more down to complacency so hopefully that turns out to be the case now he knows Frank will drop him no matter who is the alternative.

[Vesper 27,310]

14 hours ago, Tomo said:

What worried me about him this season wasn't that his weaknesses came to the fore, it was that he wasn't doing the things he was suppose to be good at very well either.

I knew about and accepted the ariel weakness from day one, the best we will ever get from him in that regard is acceptable, it was his decline in distribution and save percentage that was the huge problem.

However I think he will get another chance now as the pandemic has likely slashed our budget in ways we don't want to admit, the Liverpool and Everton games offer hope that his rut was more down to complacency so hopefully that turns out to be the case now he knows Frank will drop him no matter who is the alternative.

100% agree, I am just going to hope he comes good, BUT there are deffo some bargains out there that we need to look at HARD, and bin old Willy for. I will do a happy dance if we buy Predrag Rajkovic or Ugurcan Cakir.

[turgi 71]

Rajko <3

He played at the bridge aleady. 

[King Kante 1,296]

I really do not understand how some people think there is any hope for Kepa. For me, he is a worse buy than Bakayoko as he not only cost £72m and made the clubs highest earner (which means we cannot shift him) but he also plays GK which is the one position where mistakes are punished the hardest. 

Now, I am a season ticket holder and go to around 50% of away games, so his poor play may be something that does not come across on the TV so much, but seriously name one thing that does Kepa do well? 

From watching him for the past two years, this is what I have noticed; 

1) Does not come off his line at set pieces. He literally stays stuck to his line even when the ball is played into his 6 yard area. This makes absolutely no sense as any shot that close in is impossible to save. 

2) Shot stopping. Has the weakest wrists I have seen on a goal keeper. There are about five occasions I can think off the top of my head where the shot has been right at him and he has let it through him after getting a decent hand to it. 

3) Save percentage. A save percentage of 54-56% is absolutely shocking. It virtually means every second shot on target goes in. Now I would not mind if this was just on power shots or shots that were judged reasonabke, but his save figures include all the shots that just roll or flick up to him. Thus, his save percentage of decent shots must be below 50%. 

The thing that scares me the most about him is that I just do not see where he can improve as a lot of his problems (height/size/weak wrists) are physical and they are not changing. 

 

[MoroccanBlue 5,197]

21 minutes ago, King Kante said:

I really do not understand how some people think there is any hope for Kepa. For me, he is a worse buy than Bakayoko as he not only cost £72m and made the clubs highest earner (which means we cannot shift him) but he also plays GK which is the one position where mistakes are punished the hardest. 

Now, I am a season ticket holder and go to around 50% of away games, so his poor play may be something that does not come across on the TV so much, but seriously name one thing that does Kepa do well? 

From watching him for the past two years, this is what I have noticed; 

1) Does not come off his line at set pieces. He literally stays stuck to his line even when the ball is played into his 6 yard area. This makes absolutely no sense as any shot that close in is impossible to save. 

2) Shot stopping. Has the weakest wrists I have seen on a goal keeper. There are about five occasions I can think off the top of my head where the shot has been right at him and he has let it through him after getting a decent hand to it. 

3) Save percentage. A save percentage of 54-56% is absolutely shocking. It virtually means every second shot on target goes in. Now I would not mind if this was just on power shots or shots that were judged reasonabke, but his save figures include all the shots that just roll or flick up to him. Thus, his save percentage of decent shots must be below 50%. 

The thing that scares me the most about him is that I just do not see where he can improve as a lot of his problems (height/size/weak wrists) are physical and they are not changing. 

 

Was there not any hope last season when he came third in clean sheets? 

[King Kante 1,296]

1 hour ago, MoroccanBlue said:

Was there not any hope last season when he came third in clean sheets? 

Not really. Last season he was new to the league so it took a while for teams to pick up on his weaknesses. Once he got exposed, teams started to target him and his stats dropped; this is why teams whip in balls into his six yard area as soon as they get the chance. Also, whilst he was 3rd last season it was still only 14 in 36 which isn't exactly pulling up trees for a GK that cost £72m and is on £170k per week.

 

[MoroccanBlue 5,197]

9 minutes ago, King Kante said:

Not really. Last season he was new to the league so it took a while for teams to pick up on his weaknesses. Once he got exposed, teams started to target him and his stats dropped; this is why teams whip in balls into his six yard area as soon as they get the chance. Also, whilst he was 3rd last season it was still only 14 in 36 which isn't exactly pulling up trees for a GK that cost £72m and is on £170k per week.

 

They whip balls into our area because we can’t defend. 

[NikkiCFC 7,580]

1 hour ago, King Kante said:

Not really. Last season he was new to the league so it took a while for teams to pick up on his weaknesses. Once he got exposed, teams started to target him and his stats dropped; this is why teams whip in balls into his six yard area as soon as they get the chance. Also, whilst he was 3rd last season it was still only 14 in 36 which isn't exactly pulling up trees for a GK that cost £72m and is on £170k per week.

 

Last season after Hazard, Kepa was with RLC our best player with Kante 4th and Rudiger 5th. He also become 1st Spain GK and benched DDH.

This season yes he dropped in form but he had breakup. Long term relationship and that obviously had impact. On January 1st he was MOTM against Brighton. 10 days later he kept clean sheet against Burnley. 

He got benched after Newcastle (should do better for that goal) and Arsenal (I do not blame him for goals). But after come back he kept two clean sheets against Liverpool (he was phenomenal) and Everton.  

 

[King Kante 1,296]

19 hours ago, MoroccanBlue said:

They whip balls into our area because we can’t defend. 

The primary reason we cannot defend is because Kepa is either to scared to come off his line or is not good enough. A lot of Chelsea fans under rate TC because he wasn't a flashy shot stopper. However, he was great in the air which meant he cut off the danger before it happened. It is also not a coincidence to me that as soon as Kepa arrived we became the keystone cops at defending set pieces. It is because he does not control his area. 

17 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

Last season after Hazard, Kepa was with RLC our best player with Kante 4th and Rudiger 5th. He also become 1st Spain GK and benched DDH.

This season yes he dropped in form but he had breakup. Long term relationship and that obviously had impact. On January 1st he was MOTM against Brighton. 10 days later he kept clean sheet against Burnley. 

He got benched after Newcastle (should do better for that goal) and Arsenal (I do not blame him for goals). But after come back he kept two clean sheets against Liverpool (he was phenomenal) and Everton.  

 

Honestly, if you think that the second Arsenal goal was not saveable then I am not sure what you expectations of a GK are. That goal was a prime example of how Kepa also does not move his feet well enough and has a problem with his size/short arms. I agree that Emerson could've done better but he really shouldn't be beaten there. 

As I said before, can anyone actually say something Kepa does well? The only thing I can think of is that he can get up pretty quick after saving initial shots, other than that he is bang average/poor on: 

1) Commanding his area/coming for crosses. He is literally always stuck to his line at set pieces. 

2) Shot stopping - too many goals go right through him and his save percentages figures do not lie. 

3) Use of his feet - gets caught rooted to his spot too often. Also on long range shots he does not anticipate shots well enough.

To be honest, I am not going to argue too much about him as all his flaws are very clear and are fundermental aspects to GK'ing. If people do not see it yet, they will see it soon enough. 

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‘Kepa knows he can’t outlast Lampard at Chelsea’ - £71m keeper isn’t ‘finished article’, says Green