Chelsea hero Pat Nevin has heaped praise on Kepa Arrizalabaga, while expressing regret that Romelu Lukaku’s poor showing against Plymouth Argyle stole the weekend’s Blues headlines. The Belgian striker has struggled for form since his £98million summer switch, and even more so since his controversial Sky Italia interview in which suggested that he would be keen on a return to Inter Milan.
The Chelsea squad are currently in a far different realm than they were on Saturday, with Wednesday’s Club World Cup semi-final taking place in Abu Dhabi.
Days ago, they were taken to extra time by League One Plymouth at Stamford Bridge, despite fielding a strong team which featured Lukaku up front.
Even after a staggering 41 shots on goal, it was left to two Chelsea defenders, Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso, to spare the Blues’ blushes.
But Kepa also had a prominent part to play, saving a last-gasp penalty in extra-time to enhance his reputation as a menacing opponent when it comes to spot-kicks.
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“As everyone knows, the goalies rarely get the headlines and even at the weekend there were far more column inches devoted to Romelu Lukaku not scoring, even as we had those 41 efforts on goal, than there were about Kepa saving the day at the death,” Nevin wrote for the club’s official website.
“It is always a shame because when a keeper does make a mistake you can bet your bottom dollar he will be the focus of attention, sometimes for weeks and months afterwards.
“Kepa delivered his now regular penalty-stopping routine to save us from the lottery, but to be fair, with Kepa in goal we were big favourites to win the shoot-out anyway.
“Just before you strike a ball the great stoppers can gauge which way the ball is likely to go.
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“You can give the keeper ‘the eyes’ and that might work, looking one way and hitting it the other, but body positioning is something different again.
“I reckon Kepa is better than most at this specific ‘skill’ when it comes to penalties.
“I suspect most keepers don’t know exactly what they are reading or how they are doing it, it is just inbuilt or ingrained by years of training.”
Kepa’s stint between the sticks may soon be over, with first-choice Edouard Mendy set to return after his Africa Cup of Nations triumph with Senegal.
It has been a promising few games for the Spaniard, who was demoted to the bench in 2020 after a calamitous, error-strewn run.
But Nevin is not the only respected figure to praise the 27-year-old, and Lukaku will surely hope that his reputation can be boosted in a similar vein.
The prolific marksman has failed to build on two stellar campaigns with Inter in which he netted 64 goals.
So far this term, he has only notched eight in all competitions, and he is in desperate need of a solid showing after returning to action following the controversial interview which upset Chelsea fans.
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