Mario Melchiot expects Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to be in an uncomfortable situation following the return of Frank Lampard, at whom he “had a go” before.
Under Graham Potter and Bruno Saltor, Arrizabalaga has been the number-one goalkeeper for Chelsea.
Edouard Mendy’s injuries clearly played a big part, but the Spain international still did really well to earn his spot.
Lampard’s Stamford Bridge return as a caretaker manager until the end of the season, however, might change things.
First of all, Lampard has promised every player a clean slate, and this applies to Mendy, too, obviously.
Melchiot, however, argued that what Arrizabalaga said following Lampard’s Chelsea sacking in 2021 could still affect the relationship between the two.
“You know how hard it will be for Kepa to be in the dressing room?” the former Netherlands international told ESPN FC.
“You had a go at your coach and that coach comes back and now you have to sit with him.
“Oh my God… I don’t know what Kepa is going to do.
“I want to give advice to any footballer: never talk about your coach in public, always do it directly. You might meet him again.”
The comment that Melchiot was referring to was the goalkeeper’s interview with Marca in June 2022.
“We came from a game that wasn’t so elaborate [with Lampard],” Arrizabalaga said in the interview.
“[Under Lampard] we didn’t have to bring the ball out from the back, a game that was less planned, more to the free expression of the player, back and forth and less control.
“With Tuchel, we have gone back to control.
“It’s true that in the Premier League, we weren’t close to the top two, but in the other tournaments we’ve been very competitive.”
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