Arsenal: Why Kepa Arrizabalaga is not guaranteed a Premier League winners’ medal | OneFootball

Kepa is still awaiting his Premier League debut for Arsenal after joining last summer

Kepa Arrizabalaga is one of two senior Arsenal players facing an anxious wait to discover if they qualify for Premier League winners’ medal.

Arsenal clinched English football’s top prize for the first time in 22 years on Tuesday night, thanks to Bournemouth's 1-1 draw against Manchester City.

While the Arsenal players celebrated wildly inside London Colney - with fans lining filling the streets outside of the Emirates Stadium simultaneously - they had to make do with a cardboard version of the Premier League trophy.

However, with Arsenal denied the chance to be crowned champions at the Emirates Stadium against Burnley on Monday night, captain Martin Odegaard will get his hands on the trophy after the Crystal Palace game at Selhurst Park on Sunday.

Members of the Arsenal first-team squad will receive a Premier League winners’ medal, though to qualify for one, rule C.13 in the Premier League Handbook states the Gunners “will receive 40 commemorative medals, which are made of silver and are 2.25in (5.7cm) in diameter.

“These are "to be presented by the Club to its Manager and to such of its Players and Officials as it thinks fit provided that any Player who has entered the field of play in a minimum of five of its League Matches that Season shall receive from the Club a commemorative medal."

"Additional medals may only be presented with the consent of the Board which shall only be given if the total number of Players who have entered the field of play that Season in a minimum of five of the Club’s League Matches exceeds 39."

As per the Premier League website, at present, 24 Arsenal players - including Ethan Nwaneri - have played five or more times for the club in the Premier League this season so will automatically be presented with a medal.

Kepa is yet to feature at all in the Premier League for Arsenal since arriving from Chelsea last summer, with his 11 appearances to date coming in the cup competitions.

With just one game remaining, there is no chance of the Spaniard making five Premier League appearances, therefore he is currently in danger of missing out on a winners’ medal.

The other senior player, still currently at the club, who has made less than five Premier League appearances this season is third-choice goalkeeper Tommy Setford, whose only appearance this season came in the FA Cup win over Wigan.

That said, with Arsenal able to distribute 16 further winners’ medals, there is every chance Kepa and Setford get one apiece this weekend.