It’s been almost two months since Graham Potter took over the reins at Chelsea, enduring a successful spell since replacing Thomas Tuchel. The Blues look on course to reach their season objectives after very little hope at the start of the campaign.
Chelsea have also made an upturn in their European form, leading the way in Group E after just a single point from their opening two Champions League encounters.
They were the biggest spenders in the summer transfer period, but much of their resurgence is down to a familiar, yet forgotten figure in the Chelsea ranks.
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Potter’s arrival has given the entire squad a fresh start and Kepa Arrizabalaga has taken full advantage of that, forcing his way back into the Chelsea fold and re-stamping his claim as number one shot-stopper for the Blues.
It took very little time for Kepa to win Potter over with the Spanish goalkeeper proving to be a key figure in the way the Englishman sets up his team to play out from the back, taking the chance as Edouard Mendy remained sidelined through injury.
At the age of 28-years-old, Kepa has finally come of age and has proven ready to help Chelsea get back to their glory days. It also helps that plenty of pressure has been alleviated off the Spaniard since he arrived as the world’s most expensive goalkeeper back in 2018.
Against Brentford in Chelsea’s last Premier League encounter on Wednesday, Kepa reached a historic milestone of 50 clean sheets for the club, becoming just the 11th ‘keeper to achieve this feat – and moving him back above Edouard Mendy, who is still on 49.
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That same game, Chelsea’s new number one kept his fifth successive clean sheet across all competitions and stretched the number of minutes he has gone without conceding a goal over the 500-minute mark.
Kepa couldn’t have revived his career at a better time with the World Cup taking place in Qatar in less than a month’s time, causing necessary headaches to Luis Enrique ahead of his squad announcement.
His next major test comes at Stamford Bridge, where the Spaniard will once again need to be at his majestic best with Chelsea hosting top four rivals, Manchester United, in the evening kick-off on Saturday.
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Arrizabalaga will be at the opposite end of fellow Spaniard, David de Gea, who will also be looking to impress his national team boss ahead of this year’s World Cup showpiece, so Kepa will have extra motivation to perform and continue his sublime form.
He’s been outstanding to date and credit needs to be given to Potter, Ben Roberts (goalkeeper coach) as well for giving Kepa the belief and confidence he lacked in the past. After all, it takes some courage to keep Mendy on the bench, but right now, Kepa has made that an easier call than it should be.
Now he’s looking for six clean sheets in a row. Will he get it on Saturday? History says no after both games between Chelsea and Manchester United ended 1-1 last season. But Kepa will be looking to change that and the Blues' fortunes against the Red Devils to ensure they stay in the top four.
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Topics: Chelsea, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Graham Potter, Premier League, Football
Chadley Nagel