Potter’s Chelsea make statement vs Milan: 3 lessons learned
Kepa Arrizabalaga is here to fight for his job
If Edouard Mendy did not injure his knee against West Ham a few weeks ago, who knows if Kepa was going to get the green light from the manager in a match of this magnitude? The Spanish goalkeeper took the opportunity in front of him and ran with it. When his name was called upon, he did his job, and while there was not much to take from an outing with only one recorded save, it is difficult to now see Potter go back to Mendy when Kepa has put together back-to-back quality performances between the sticks.
He may have only had 26 touches on the ball, but at the end of the day, a goalkeeper’s job is to keep the ball from hitting the back of the net, and Kepa did just that. He made one world-class save last weekend from long range from a shot on the ground from Eberechi Eze in the 10’ of the match. In the past, that ball may have found its way past the Spaniard, but after nearly leaving for Italy during the summer, Kepa wants to try his luck at creating a challenging decision for Potter for the spot between the posts.
It wasn’t a mind-blowing outing for Kepa, but the trend line is in his favor, and with Mendy finally fit and ready to go, the competition is just able to heat up. Who Potter starts at keeper next Tuesday in Milan is going to send the message of who is really at the top of the food chain. Amid all of the drama that has been his Chelsea career, Kepa has taken the bull by the horns, continuing to ignite confidence for Chelsea fans when he stands in the net.