Kepa Arrizabalaga, in part, helped Chelsea pick up all three points against Crystal Palace on Tuesday thanks to his fine save during the dying minutes of the match.
A combined effort from the Spanish keeper and Kurt Zouma assured that the Blues climbed to the third spot on the Premier League table – one point ahead of Leicester City. And after the win, Frank Lampard was all praise for his keeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The manager said after the match: ‘Kepa made a great save and Kurt Zouma made a great tackle and in those last moments it was nerve-wracking for us.
‘The finger-tip save by Kepa was huge and that is what he is there for so credit to him for that one. To be a top team you need keepers making those type of saves for you to pull you through.’
But despite his fine display towards the end of the match, his role during Zaha’s goal has come under the scanner and according to pundit Ian Wright, such a high valued keeper should have done much more to keep the shot out.
“Honestly for me for £71m worth of a goalkeeper he’s got to do better with that,” Wright told Premier League Productions, as reported.
“The power was brilliant but the way he’s gone with his arm he’s just missed the flight of the ball.
“It’s a powerful strike don’t get me wrong but from where it’s gone in the goal he’s got to do better, he’s got to at least get a hand to that. Watch where it is – he’s in the middle of the goal! I’d be gutted if my goalkeeper let that in.”
The Spanish keeper has had a really average season for the Blues but since the restart, he has been fairly steady in front of goal.
Over the past couple of months, there have been rumours of Lampard wanting to bring in a new keeper in the summer but selling Kepa Arrizabalaga could be a big issue for Chelsea amidst such a financial crisis which is why the club could hold onto him for one more season.
