3 reasons why Arsenal want to sign Kepa Arrizabalaga | OneFootball

Arsenal have identified Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga as their main target to be an understudy to David Raya, according to the Athletic, replacing Neto who spent the 2024/25 season on loan at the Gunners.

But why are Arsenal looking at Kepa?

Kepa is a budget-friendly option

After missing out on Espanyol’s Joan Garcia, who is set to join Barcelona for a reported €25m, Kepa is available for just £5m – his release clause – making the Spaniard a budget-friendly option. Signing the 30-year-old – who has Premier League and Champions League experience – for such a nominal fee would allow Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta to address far more important matters. Unlike Chelsea’s inflated spending, Arsenal’s is far more reserved when it comes to spending such a budget. Since the 2023/24 season, the Blues have spent €83.5m on four goalkeepers: Filip Jørgensen, Mike Penders, Robert Sanchez and Djordje Petrovic. The Gunners meanwhile have spend short of €70m on five goalkeepers – including Neto’s loan spell – since 2020.

One of the best performing goalkeepers in the Premier League last season

During his time in England, Kepa will certainly be remembered for his refusal to being substituted in the 2019 Carabao Cup final under Maurizio Sarri. He then went on to play a full season under Frank Lampard but struggled for game time between 2020 and 2022. After being Chelsea’s No. 1 in the 2022/23 season, he then went on loan to Real Madrid after the Blues’ extravagant expenditure on goalkeepers before returning to England and spending the 2024/25 season on loan at Bournemouth.

Flourishing under Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth, Kepa played 35 games across all competitions, keeping nine clean sheets as the Spaniard’s side finished ninth in the Premier League, their joint-best finish in the top-flight. Per FBRef, Kepa’s save percentage was 73.9 percent, bettered only by Raya (74.2), Lukasz Fabianski (74.6) and Sanchez (76.4). He’s also a goalkeeper that likes to put the opposing strikers under pressure, averaging 1.74 # of defensive actions outside of the penalty area, playing him in the 88th percentile of goalkeepers across Europe’s top five leagues in the last year.

A wealth of experience

Two Champions League titles (Chelsea – 20/21, Real Madrid – 23/24), a La Liga title, Europa League and Supercup and a Nations League, Kepa is a well decorated goalkeeper, and you can certainly argue that he’s not hit his prime yet, just entering his 30s. The Spaniard has played 140 games in the Premier League, 67 in La Liga, 21 in the Champions League as well as earning 13 caps for Spain. As far as experience for backup goalkeepers would go, it doesn’t get much better than that.

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