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Chelsea key clashes vs. Watford: Blues’ ability to defend strong striker

By Gabe Henderson

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 01: Declan Rice of West Ham United and Christian Pulisic of Chelsea battle for the ball during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Chelsea FC at London Stadium on July 01, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 01: Declan Rice of West Ham United and Christian Pulisic of Chelsea battle for the ball during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Chelsea FC at London Stadium on July 01, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) /
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Chelsea’s Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga (C) saves a shot from Liverpool’s Senegalese striker Sadio Mane (L) during the English FA Cup fifth round football match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in London on March 3, 2020. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images) /

2. Kepa Arrizabalaga vs. himself

Kepa Arrizabalaga in 2019/20 is a shell of his former Chelsea self. The difference between this year and last is shocking. Night and day, yin and yang, this or that—or whatever you want to say.

Blues fans expected an improvement from last year seeing as Petr Cech pops in to training regularly. He’s got Willy Caballero training with him every day, a solid goalkeeping coaching squad, Cech to contact at any time and sees a majority of the minutes between the sticks. The Spaniard was on top of the world following a Europa League win with his new club last season. The young goalkeeper made a world-record transfer to one of Europe’s biggest clubs and won one of the continent’s biggest trophies. Nobody truly knows what happened to Arrizabalaga over the course of the last few months, but it’s seemingly stuck with him.

Now, Chelsea is looking ready to move on from the goalkeeper in favor of Ajax’s Andre Onana. The 25-year-old has failed to keep a clean sheet since he’s come back, allowing a shocking three goals on as many shots on target. If it weren’t for a questionable VAR overturned goal, he would’ve allowed four to West Ham, which is unacceptable no matter the defensive performance.

Arrizabalaga has made mistake after mistake this season and has shown no signs of stopping. At this point, the young keeper is battling the demons inside his own head. The Spaniard is questioning his every move; from the positioning of his feet to the pursuit of an aerial. He’s playing scared and over-analyzing.

Despite how poorly the defense in front of him plays, Arrizabalaga needs to step it up. If nothing else, for his own sake. The 25-year-old’s time in west London is running out, but a clean sheet in every remaining match may force Lampard to reconsider. There’s a world-class keeper somewhere inside that Spanish head, Arrizabalaga just needs to find it. The Blues don’t stand a chance against some of the teams remaining on their schedule if he doesn’t—not even, dare I say, Watford.

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