As Arsenal faced Brighton in the Carabao Cup round of 16, Mikel Arteta seized the opportunity to rotate his squad – and it paid off handsomely.
The Spaniard made several changes to his starting eleven, and they delivered. Arsenal ran out 2-0 winners on the night, booking their place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals where they will meet Crystal Palace.
Kepa stands out in rare appearance
One player who truly caught the eye was Kepa Arrizabalaga. Making only his second start of the season, the Spaniard produced a composed and confident performance in goal.
He delivered another assured display, no mean feat for someone who has spent most weeks watching from the bench. Against the Seagulls, he was professional, alert and well-positioned throughout.
Kepa worked tirelessly to earn his clean sheet, dealing comfortably with long-range efforts and producing a vital one-on-one save in the first half before denying another clear chance later on. Although there was one nervy moment from a corner, he handled the occasion with composure. It is remarkable that Arsenal only paid £5 million for him.
Media reaction to Kepa’s performance
So, how did the media react to his display? According to Football London, “Brilliant one-on-one save inside the opening ten minutes from Georginio Rutter to prevent an early Brighton goal. Strong throughout the game and was a great stand-in for David Raya.”
The Evening Standard noted, “Distribution a bit shaky at times, but an impressive display nonetheless.”
But it was the Express who summed it up best in my opinion: “Faced a bombardment in the first half but was equal to everything thrown at him. A strong display between the sticks.”
Most Gooners watching that night would agree he was superb. Despite not featuring since the Port Vale tie, Kepa looked focused and composed throughout. Arsenal are fortunate to have him in reserve.
Should Arsenal consider keeping Kepa as a long-term option, or would a winter move be the right decision for all parties?
Daniel O
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the semi finals will be tough,let´s hope we have everybody fresh and available !! for a log time I have had
a premonition that if we manage to have a 10 point lead
going into the new year it will be our year.. onto the game then Nwaneri must show more to get game time..
The quarter finals you mean 🙄
I doubt Kepa would be happy to sit on the bench at Arsenal and play an occasional cup game or rare PL appearance, but I could be wrong.
I fully expect him to move on to a starting gig somewhere, and we should make a tidy profit off his sale.
I would like to see competition between Kepa and Raya, but I don’t think it will happen. Raya has been sharp, but they need to be on their toes and looking over their shoulder; otherwise performances could drop.
Ramsdale dipped when he was the known first choice, and we saw it too often with Wenger and his refusal to drop underperformers or refusal to bring in players to challenge his starting squad.
Raya is building a fantastic portfolio for clean sheets – for this reason Kepa will struggle to ever displace the arsenal numero uno. On the upside the number stands to pick up a lot more trophies should he opt to remain the backup keeper… which something i want him to do. Arsenal could well be on the up domestically and on the euro front so id advise he stay for the ride knowing he will get enough chances to shine provided we vie for honors in all available competitions.
… On the upside the number 2 keeper stands to…