Some Chelsea fans have taken to Twitter to share their frustrations over goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga after the Spaniard made a mistake in Tuesday’s 4-4 draw with Ajax.
This flurry of criticism came after Chelsea journalist Alex Goldberg tweeted his own issues with Arrizabalaga, pointing out the ‘keepers “underwhelming moments” throughout this season.
This tweet then gathered a lot of replies from Chelsea fans who were quick to agree with Goldberg’s statement.
Here’s a sample of Chelsea fans criticising Kepa:
I’ve said this before it’s very strange with him. He pulls off amazing saves very often and also makes me go “how did you not save that” very often. Don’t know what to make of it
— Mod (@CFCMod_) November 5, 2019
underwhelming is an understatement hes been below average since arriving and considering we paid 72m its a disastrous buy so far. Caballero is seriously as good but 70m less hth
— Kantesintern (@abenhaile) November 5, 2019
His lack of size and at times slow reflexes are really hurting Chelsea
— Zed (@Zed80002890) November 5, 2019
Arrizabalaga was at fault for Ajax’s third goal for not catching the tight-angled free-kick sent in by Hakim Ziyech before it bounced off the post back on to Kepa’s face and into the goal. Despite Chelsea eventually drawing the game in heroic fashion, Kepa still found himself at the end of some social media criticism.
Worst keeper in Chelsea history
— Tammy_9 (@turbulenttammy) November 5, 2019
Someone had to point this out… the guy needs to work on his technique and positioning… was so good in the first season !!
— SHYAM (@shyams002) November 5, 2019
Shambolic moments fits better for his performance this season.
— Jonathan Aditya (@aditjonathan) November 5, 2019
He’s been awful since the start of the season… Very awful
— Odogwu Jeffrey (@jeffoprah) November 5, 2019
What do we think?
Ajax’s third goal could have been prevented if Kepa set himself up in a better standing position before the free-kick was taken. The 25-year-old joined the West-London club in 2018 from La Liga side Athletic Bilbao for a fee of £72 million. Since his move to Chelsea, the Spaniard has made 70 appearances for the club but has kept just 26 clean sheets (per Transfermarkt).
Kepa hasn’t always covered himself in glory at Chelsea, as the ‘keeper has been known to make the odd mistake here or there, with Tuesday’s match being a prime example. But he is still a relatively young player with plenty of time for growth and improvement as Chelsea’s number one goalkeeper.