‘I would worry’: Jamie O’Hara says Chelsea can’t win Premier League with 27-year-old playing

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Jamie O’Hara has said that Chelsea don’t have a chance of winning the Premier League if Kepa Arrizabalaga is starting for them.

Kepa, 27, is a Chelsea goalkeeper whose time at in London has seen him receive plenty of criticism.

The Spanish shot-stopper has made a string of high-profile errors since joining over three years ago, which is why he’s developed into the role of second-choice goalkeeper at Stamford Bridge.

He’s the understudy to the club’s outstanding number one Edouard Mendy, but the imminent Africa Cup of Nations tournament could cause massive disruption to Thomas Tuchel’s line-up.

Senegal international Mendy, 29, could miss some games in the New Year depending on how well his country does at the major tournament. The AFCON runs from 9 January to 6 February in 2022.

Kepa showed on Wednesday night his quality as Chelsea’s back-up goalkeeper, making some outstanding saves in the 3-3 Champions League match away to Zenit St Petersburg. He impressed on just his fifth appearance of the season while Mendy was given a rare night off.

Pundit O’Hara said afterwards that he’s still not totally convinced by him, though.

“I would worry if Kepa all of a sudden has to go in-between the sticks. I can’t see you (Chelsea) winning the Premier League with him,” O’Hara told talkSPORT (11:15pm, 8 December).

Chelsea fans must put faith in Kepa again

For January, Chelsea supporters may need to go through the process of trusting Kepa again.

Of course, it’s almost impossible to forget some of his previous howlers from the past. However, he’s looked a much more assured figure since Tuchel’s arrival in January of this year and seems much more comfortable in general in net.

He was brilliant at times against Zenit despite conceding three goals and he bailed his defence out on several occasions with reflex saves.

Kepa will have a lot to prove to everyone if he can get a run of a few games next month, so Tuchel is smart giving him some minutes to ensure he’s not going into it completely cold.

It’s unsurprising to hear criticism from pundits such as O’Hara, but he’s definitely in a much better place now as a player than 12 months ago.

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