Why Arsenal signing this summer is ‘confusing’ one after ‘unbelievable’ season

Kepa Arrizabalaga looks likely to become Arsenal’s first summer signing after impressing on loan with Bournemouth, but Shaun Wright-Phillips has questioned Chelsea letting him leave

Chelsea have been warned that they are making a grave mistake by selling Kepa Arrizabalaga to Arsenal. The Spanish shot stopper impressed during his season-long loan with Bournemouth, keeping eight clean sheets in 31 appearances as the Cherries finished in a respectable ninth.

However, instead of deploying the 30-year-old shot stopper at Stamford Bridge next season, it appears as though Enzo Maresca will let Kepa move to north London on a permanent transfer – with Arsenal reportedly agreeing a £5million deal.

Chelsea secured him as the most expensive goalkeeper in history back in 2018, bringing him in from Athletic Bilbao for £72m. But he ultimately failed to find his footing with the Blues, losing his place in the team before loan spells with Real Madrid and Bournemouth.

And while Chelsea are in the market for a keeper this summer – recently linked with AC Milan’s Mike Maignan as a replacement for Robert Sanchez – it appears as though they have disregarded Kepa, who looks increasingly likely to join the Gunners once the summer window reopens next week.

However, former Blues star Shaun Wright-Phillips believes this is a mistake. Speaking to Betway about Kepa, the former winger, who spent three years at Stamford Bridge between 2005 and 2008, said: “I’m confused.

“I don’t understand. It’s like nobody’s been watching Kepa this season. He’s been unbelievable. He is part of the reason why Bournemouth finished where they finished.

“The defence was outstanding, but Kepa was unbelievable, as well, I thought. I assumed while the season was going on that Chelsea didn’t need to buy a goalkeeper because Kepa was going back anyway, but that isn’t to be the case.

“You can have as good a goalkeeper as you want, but if you’re still going to make the same mistakes in defence, your goalkeeper is still going to concede. That’s just the fact of the matter.

“Alisson pulls off amazing saves when he’s needed. Half the time he has to pull off a save, it’s not forced errors. So if Chelsea can get their defence like that, where they’re not making him make unnecessary saves he shouldn’t have to make, then I think Kepa is your man to keep. You don’t need to forage around.

“Most managers now are looking for goalkeepers that are good with their feet. I think Kepa’s alright with his feet, but he might not be at the level they want him to be. But for me, it’s a real strange one.”

Despite being a regular as Chelsea secured a fourth-place finish in the Premier League and won the Europa Conference League, Sanchez has failed to show consistency. And while they also have Filip Jorgensen, Mike Penders and Djorde Petrovic on their books, it appears they’re eager to bring in a fresh keeper this summer.

A deal for Maignan fell through earlier this week, with it reported that Chelsea did not see eye-to-eye on AC Milan’s valuation of the 29-year-old, who has just a year left on his current contract. Mikel Arteta, meanwhile, looks set to take advantage as he seeks a back-up for No. 1 David Raya.

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