Ever since Édouard Mendy arrived at Chelsea from Rennes in the last transfer window, Kepa Arrizabalaga has been all but forgotten at Stamford Bridge.
Picking up six clean sheets in his first seven games, the Senegal international has immediately become a fan favourite, leaving the most expensive goalkeeper in history on the bench and out of people’s minds.
One person who hasn’t forgotten him is Luis Enrique, the Spain national team manager, who still called him up for the current international break.
Admitting the Chelsea man was ‘in a delicate moment’, the former Barcelona coach was keen to keep the faith in his man, even if he wasn’t playing.
However, it’s something the player is going to have to put up with, since few will be interested in his services in January, meaning it’s just a case of gritting his teeth and working hard to overcome it.
El Confidencial spoke to Koke Contreras, once a goalkeeping coach at Real Betis, Real Madrid and the Spanish team, among others, about Kepa’s situation, and he didn’t hold back.
He said: “It’s a very complicated situation. The fact of being the most expensive goalkeeper in history generates much greater expectations and pressure. With that added pressure, your mistakes don’t tend to be forgiven, and it hurts the analysis around you.
Still only 26, the Spaniard has a lot of time left in his career to turn things around, including a great staff at Chelsea who can help him overcome this tough period.
The added competition from Mendy should also help him raise his level, but as Contreras said, ‘the goalkeeper position forces you to wait a bit to be able to show that everything that’s happened around you is over’.
In his last outing, on October 18th against Southampton, Kepa was criticised for his decision to come out and clash with Kurt Zouma, which led to a goal.
For Contreras, it’s something he will have to learn from, and used a quote from Germán Burgos to help put things into perspective.
He said: “I think it’s from his book: ‘You’re not a goalkeeper until you’ve conceded 500 goals’. It seems silly but it’s not. Each goal is a lesson in managing situations. They can score because of a mistake, but immediately afterwards, you have to keep thinking that your team need you after a mistake”.
It’s part and parcel of being a goalkeeper, which is the career Kepa chose.
Contreras finished by saying: “It’s a very mental position, very complicated. A striker can miss nine goals, score one and end up on the back page the day after. A goalkeeper can make nine saves, concede one goal and also appears on the back page, but for the worse.
“It’s the point of madness that we like. We must get used to living together through thick and thin, which is very treacherous”.
It’s now entirely up to Kepa to see if he can turn the situation around at Chelsea, but if he can’t, then the Stamford Bridge side, alongside their record signing, will have a big decision to make in the next year or so.
