Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has been subject to criticism all season, but he may not be the first person to blame for errors this year.
The consensus amongst Chelsea faithful is that while the Blues’ attacking additions this summer are wonderful, they need to take a look at defenders. The jury is still out on which defenders should stay and which should leave, but the fate of Kepa Arrizabalaga has seemingly been decided by supporters.
While Arrizabalaga has been poor this season, one must consider the situation he’s been put in before condemning him. It’s time to discuss the glaring problem in front of him, which may be the key to finding out why the young keeper has struggled a lot more this season than in the last campaign.
When analyzing the differences between this season and last, there are two massive changes in the eyes of Arrizabalaga: management and defensive consistency. Coaching changes impact the entire team, surely. Different styles of management, dissimilar tactics and unique relationships come with the changing of the guard, so to speak. However, keepers are the least affected by these changes. The only massive difference in Arrizabalaga’s case from Maurizio Sarri to Frank Lampard is how he distributes the ball—and anybody who has watched the 25-year-old this season knows his problems extend far beyond distribution.
That leads us to defensive inconsistencies. The Blues fielded a rather similar back line under Sarri, but the same cannot be said for this year. Lampard has been forced to plug and play all season at the back due to injuries and inconsistent performances from his defenders. The emergence of Reece James and flexibility of Cesar Azpilicueta have assisted out wide, but the centerhalves cannot string together a series of decent performances. Look no further than the match against Aston Villa on Sunday to see the defensive woes that’ve been the defining theme of the season in action.
The point of all of this being, maybe Arrizabalaga isn’t fully to blame. Of course, he’s missed some relatively simple saves, but supporters are quick to forget matches like Watford and Liverpool (FA Cup). Arrizabalaga has failed to live up to the expectations of a massive transfer fee and a first season in London with many signature moments. However, let’s pump the brakes on the exit talks.
Many underestimate the difficulty of working with different partners week in and week out. Arrizabalaga seemingly has a different pair in front of him each and every match, so communication is a struggle and familiarity is faint. The Blues need to stick with a centerback pairing, if nothing else to prevent further struggles from a starting-quality keeper.
Arrizabalaga has earned another season at Chelsea. The Spaniard has had a solid few matches since his return to the starting role and if he continues to build on them, he can once again become the keeper of the future. Lampard’s been impressed with his response to being dropped earlier in the year, now it’s the gaffer’s turn to do his part in making sure Arrizabalaga succeeds.
Lampard needs to build on the defense and work on building a consistent back line. Whether it start Thursday against Manchester City or the first game of next season’s Premier League campaign, it doesn’t matter. All judgement of Arrizabalaga should be silenced until he does so.