Kepa Arrizabalaga has insisted he has ‘the confidence’ to turn around his current situation at Chelsea.
The Spanish goalkeeper has found himself under intense scrutiny at Stamford Bridge since his arrival in a £72m deal from Athletic Bilbao in 2018.
A series of disappointing performances mean he has struggled to justify the considerable price the Blues paid for him, with last year proving to be particularly difficult as it becoming apparent that Frank Lampard was not keen and wanted a replacement.
That alternative ultimately arrived this summer, with Chelsea electing to pay £21.6m to sign goalkeeper Edouard Mendy from Stade Rennais.
Kepa is now very much viewed as the number two at the club, but he insists that is not the case.
“I feel good, strong, confident,” he told a press conference, relayed by Mundo Deportivo.
“It may not be the desired or dreamed situation, but sometimes we have to experience situations like this. I have the confidence to work and turn it around.
“I do not have the feeling of being a substitute. We have three goalkeepers, and the level is very high.
“It is the coach who chooses the eleven, and we have to try to do our best and if we do not play, add as much as possible.”
“I’m in a great club, in a great national team. I feel lucky to belong to these two teams.”
“Obviously all players want to play. I do not consider myself beyond the day to day. In football, it is difficult to look at the medium-long term.
“Everything can change. Now the closest thing is the national team, and my focus is put in these three games.”
