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ESPN pundit Shaka Hislop has backed Chelsea's Kepa Arrizabalaga to fill the void left by Edouard Mendy when he leaves for the Africa Cup of Nations in January. Hislop believes the Spaniard has resurrected his career following the Senegal keeper's arrival at Stamford Bridge.
Mendy has taken over as Chelsea's first-choice keeper since arriving from Rennes last year. Kepa, meanwhile, has had a tough time at the club as he has had to settle for a spot on the bench. However, his confidence appears to be growing once again and he has played an important role in Chelsea's cup campaigns in the past few months.
Speaking on ESPN, Hislop claimed the Spaniard has been a solid back-up option for Chelsea.
"Yeah. Kepa's been very good since Mendy arrived. There is a huge difference, I'm not saying that (there's not). The Kepa since Mendy arrived is not the Kepa pre-Mendy. He has been a very good number two."
"It's not easy when you're not playing" - Kepa on being the second-choice goalkeeper at Chelsea
Speaking to Chelsea's official website, Kepa Arrizabalaga admitted it was "not easy" being benched every week. However, he did reveal he is pushing hard to regain his spot in the starting XI.
"It's not easy when you're not playing, everybody wants to play, but the best way I'm trying to do it is push every day hard. Just push yourself every day in the training and be positive," Kepa said.
"I know sometimes it is not easy, but you have to be very strong mentally. When I have the opportunity, like in the cups, or like I did in the league against Tottenham, when I come in I do my best to take the opportunity and give everything to make the manager have a hard decision."
The Spaniard has helped Chelsea win three important penalty shootouts in recent months. He was in goal against Villarreal in the Super Cup, as well as League Cup games against Aston Villa and Southampton.
When asked to choose his favorite penalty shootout win, Kepa picked the Super Cup victory over Villarreal. The Spaniard was brought on in the final minute of the game and saved two spot-kicks to help Chelsea triumph.
"I'm not sure. Maybe I will say the one against Villarreal because that gave us a trophy. When you win a trophy it's like, well, you win a trophy!"
