Chelsea star Kepa Arrizabalaga hailed for 'amazing' performance against Man Utd
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Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has been hailed for his ‘amazing’ performance in AFC Bournemouth’s 3-0 win at Manchester United.
Arrizabalaga, currently on a season-long loan at the Cherries from the Blues, was lauded by Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola on Sunday.
Iraola was left delighted with Arrizabalaga after he made a series of important saves to help Bournemouth keep a clean sheet at Old Trafford.
Arrizabalaga is loving life on the south coast – and while reports from Spain claimed earlier this month that the 30-year-old wishes to return to Chelsea once his loan spell is over – Iraola is hoping to change his mind and convince the ‘keeper to join Bournemouth in a permanent deal.
Speaking after Arrizabalaga’s heroics against United, helping Bournemouth climb up to fifth in the Premier League table, Iraola said: ‘Today, he has been amazing.
‘I think he’s looking very solid, he has done some very good games, the last ones.
‘But today he had, apart from the good decisions on the ball, in a backline that is very, very young, I think we need this experience like calm, he shows from Adam [Smith], from Lewis Cook, from Kepa to help the other players.
‘And apart from that he has very good shot saving, let’s say. But it makes the performance very good.’
Spain international Arrizabalaga – who cost Chelsea a record £71.6m in 2018 – is under contract at Stamford Bridge until the summer of 2026.
He doesn’t seem to have much of a future at Stamford Bridge, with Enzo Maresca favouring Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen as his ‘keepers.
Arrizabalaga looked delighted at full-time following Bournemouth’s shock 3-0 triumph over Ruben Amorim’s side this weekend.
The Chelsea star was seen punching the air while the Bournemouth fans in the away end serenaded him by chanting his name.
Speaking earlier this season, Arrizabalaga declared that Bournemouth’s Iraola was among the best managers in the entire Premier League.
‘He's one of the best coaches in the league, and this is the strongest league, which says a lot about him,’ Kepa said after Bournemouth’s 2-0 win over Arsenal in October.
