Chelsea Tactics and Transfers: Kepa Arrizabalaga a turning point for Blues

Thibaut Courtois has finally gone to Madrid after embarassingly expoiting his children, agent and self. Chelsea have replaced him with Kepa Arrizabalaga, who is much more our cup of tea.

For many years I endured many ignorant, bashful and stupid barbs over my now-proven correct opinion on Thibaut Courtois. He is gone and, finally, Chelsea can be as we should be again: united and as one, without the constant thorn in our side of Courtois and his undeservedly large ego.

Courtois had to go. The large Belgian keeper spent years of his career snubbing Chelsea, our supporters, and city in favor of a rude predilection towards childish public displays of discontent. It was nothing short of an embarrassment for the ages. Hopefully with some scrubbing Chelsea can eventually erase the memory of the phony Flemish man from the history books of our club.

The even better news is Chelsea made the right decision in their choice of Kepa Arrizabalaga. Though it emerged early Sunday Chelsea also chased Jan Oblak, the Blues finally, even if through some good fortune, made the right decision in terms of player recruitment.

I am particularly hard on goalkeepers. I know that. But one of the blessings and curses of the isolated position is that goalkeepers are so easy to single out, both for praise and criticism.

This is where the issue with Courtois was largest. Despite many obvious flaws he was unable to take criticism and never able to grow from it. I find it peculiar that, other than adding weight, he has not improved markedly as a goalkeeper from the time he was 18 until now at 26.  How peculiar that the same issues with communication, defense organization, command of his box and reading of the game are the issues that plagued the young version now plague this older version.

The truest encapsulation of everything wrong with Courtois came in his demand for the club to replace his coaches when he was struggling. Rather than getting in the film room, studying his angles, and building a system of communication with his defenders, Courtois felt it best to replace his coaches. Some of them are the most highly regarded and celebrated in Europe. He likewise opted to throw his teammates under the bus, claiming they weren’t world-class, as are his teammates on Belgium duty. How he did not know to be embarassed by this behavior is absurd.

Second, and this is another place in which I have been right for years, Courtois simply isn’t that good. Yes, he is big. Good for those of you who used your eyes. His size, though, was his biggest issue and an odd reason why people seemingly discounted his errors.

It’s true his size allows him to reach shots perfectly directed to the upper corner. Hooray. But how many shots really are that perfectly placed? 1 in 30? We’ll be generous and say 20, simply for the sake of not carrying on here. Courtois was rubbish at all other aspects of the game. Shots on the ground? Don’t bother. The angles in and around his body? Miserable. Quick reaction saves? Goodbye, dearest. To accept Thibaut Courtois as your goalkeeper is to tie your future to the inane and ridiculous in lieu of likely and logical.

Finally, the utter madness among people of thinking we can’t criticize Courtois drove me mad. This is a man who never liked us. Never wanted to be one of us. Never had the barely decent enough manners to be polite and professional. People treating criticism of Courtois as a crime was absurd, when the true crime against Chelsea was to accept him at all.

This is why I am so deeply excited by Kepa Arrizabalaga. The young Spaniard has many likenesses to two players I could not be more fond of that it is hard not to be excited.

First, and I have said this before, your goalkeeper simply must be a leader. Anything else is not acceptable. Goalkeeping is more about the mental side of the game and character than it is about being the lone player allowed to use his hands.

This makes so wonderful the similarities between Kepa Arrizabalaga and Chelsea’s own true Captain Fantastic, Cesar Azpilicueta. Both of them are from the Basque country in northern Spain. The characteristics of Basque people in their dedication, character, bravery, independence and spine are all well-known, and are the sort of things that have for years made Chelsea who they are. If Kepa follows suit with Azpilicueta there’s not a doubt in my mind he will be feted by the Chelsea faithful.

The second is still some time away, and we must be careful not to put too much pressure on the young man. But I see in Arrizabalaga some of Gianluigi Buffon.

When the Italian goalkeeper was 23 he also transferred for a world-record sum to a large club. At the time the fee was considered truly absurd. But over the years – almost 20 of them, in fact – it may have been the best money Juventus ever spent.  Like Buffon, Arrizabalaga had very few appearances for his national team and was viewed as a big pile of potential. Another similarity is size. They are both 6’3”, perfect for a goalkeeper.

This size allows them to react quickly and get to the ground with pace, agility and reaction speed. Simply put, Courtois was too large. Goalkeepers must be able to save with their feet as well as their hands, given the speed of deflections and close-quarters saves. Courtois was possibly the worst goalkeeper I have ever seen with foot saves. Kepa Arrizabalaga is phenomenal.

Simply put, no, at the moment Kepa is not as good as Courtois. But sadly, Courtois’ own mental limits brought the ceiling down on his talent and potential. For Kepa, the sky is still the limit and that is what truly matters.

With the correct attitude he will reach it. If he stays for seven years or more the fee will no longer matter. I have long thought the only player worth spending world record money on is the goalkeeper. They are the only player who plays almost every match (before this new modern ridiculousness of cup and league keepers) and are injured the least.

If Kepa plays at Chelsea until he’s near 40, which is as long as the best goalkeepers play, then Chelsea will have done the best business they could have done. A true goalkeeper who wants to be great and displays the right attitude is always a sound investment for the present and the future. Particularly when they’re replacing an arrogant prat who is not half as good as he believes and views the club as a servant to him instead of as the community it always has and always should be.

Bless Kepa Arrizabalaga, and long live the new king.