‘You can sense’: Pat Nevin has noticed ‘world-class’ Chelsea player look a lot more mature this season

Add as preferred source on Google

Pat Nevin claims Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga looks a much more mature player this season.

Kepa, who turned 28 earlier this month, is currently in the spotlight for all the right reasons.

The goalkeeper has had to deal with barrages of criticism earlier on his Blues career, which is why he’s spent the last couple of years as the second-choice option in goal behind Edouard Mendy.

However, the shot-stopper has recently been restored to the starting line-up by Graham Potter. He’s thriving and playing some great football under the new head coach, too.

Kepa now more mature

Nevin has noticed that Chelsea’s keeper looks really mature on the pitch, something that’s easy to spot in goalkeepers as they get older.

In particular, he hailed his “world-class” individual performance on Sunday in the win against Aston Villa.

“The world-class display by Kepa had at least as much to do with our most recent win as Mason [Mount], so we needed a little bit of luck early on our visit to Birmingham before controlling the game in the end,” Nevin said.

“It is worth remembering that most keepers really only get close to approaching their best around the age of 28 and beyond. Kepa has reached that age now and you can sense the increased maturity in his performances all the way from the back of the gantry at the top of the stand.”

All the recent signs are that Kepa is a really important player under the new management.

Sky Sports reporter Gary Cotterill recently noted that Kepa was yelling out Potter’s instructions on the pitch to his teammates in the Champions League win over AC Milan.

It feels like he’s now back in the side as a new player after time on the sides to reflect on his mistakes and to finetune his game.

Any top team usually consists of a goalkeeper that’s combines both calmness and a commanding presence at the back.

For Kepa, now that his own game is in a much better place he can take on the role of communicating and helping the defence in front of him.

The jury is still out on him until this form continues a little while longer, but it’s obvious the Chelsea fanbase are now behind him hoping he’s started a new chapter in his Stamford Bridge career.

Keep up to date with all the latest Chelsea news and opinion by following The Chelsea Chronicle’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.