Arsenal dey prepare for dia Carabao Cup clash with Fleetwood, and goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga dey among di players wey team news dey tip to feature, while young Max Dowman sef dey line up for a starting role. Saka no go dey available for di match.
Mikel Arteta dey plan to hand Dowman a start for di cup tie, according to TribalFootball, and one predicted eleven from Football London tok say di coach go rest 10 key players for di game. Di previews from The False 9, TribalFootball and Football London all point to Kepa and Dowman as di names to watch, with Saka ruled out.
Kepa arrive Arsenal from Chelsea for a reported £5m, after di club trigger di modest release clause inside im contract, according to BBC Sport’s Nizaar Kinsella. Chelsea bin sign am from Athletic Bilbao for £72m back in 2018, and dat fee still make am di most expensive goalkeeper for world football.
Di 30-year-old spent last season on loan at Bournemouth. Before dat, e bin dey on loan at Real Madrid, where e play 20 times across all competitions and win di Champions League, La Liga and di Supercopa. For im time at Chelsea, e make 163 appearances and win di Champions League, Europa League, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup.
When e join Arsenal, Kepa tok say, “I think we are so close to winning and, hopefully, altogether, we can achieve it.” Di Spaniard go compete with im compatriot David Raya for di starting goalkeeper slot.
Im Chelsea spell no dey without heavy criticism. Errors and yabis follow am for west London, and im lowest point fit be im debut campaign when e appear to refuse substitution near di end of extra time for di 2019 League Cup final. E come fail to lead Chelsea past Manchester City for di shootout as backup goalkeeper Willy Caballero, wey get strong record of saving penalties, watch from bench.
Wen Frank Lampard dey manage am, Kepa save only 53.5 percent of di shots on target e face during di 2019-20 season, and expected goals analysis show say e concede 11 more times than di numbers predict. Pundits, journalists and even im own manager criticise am publicly, and clips show team-mates dey call am out after set-piece confusion during a game away at Liverpool.
Despite everything, Kepa finish as runner-up in three FA Cup finals and two League Cup finals with Chelsea, and im CV still carry di biggest prizes for club football.
