Rob Green trained with Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga last season.
Rob Green has urged Kepa Arrizabalaga to ‘slow it down’ in training as he stated that the Chelsea goalkeeper is ‘quick enough’.
The former England international would have trained on a regular basis with Kepa last season, as he shared that the Chelsea man does have some technical faults in his game and shared that ‘a lot of his exercises’ in training are all based on being ‘fast’.
Kepa moved to Chelsea during the summer of 2018 for a pretty hefty fee of £71 million [BBC Sport], that fee in itself comes with expectation, as it is fair to say that he has had a mixed time at the Bridge since joining.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live (01/01/2020 at 2:35 pm), Green shared a fascinating insight into Kepa in training, as fans will perhaps be surprised to hear that he is the one who is described as being too quick.
On whether Kepa is a top keeper or whether he is working towards it: “I think the difficulty with it is because he cost so much money then people are coming at it thinking he is the finished article,” Green told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“He was 24 when he signed. He’s still a kid in terms of goalkeeping. And also it’s a tough, tough transition to make from Spain to England. And to London to a big, big club like Chelsea and the scrutiny that you get with it.
“There are things that we tried to work with him in his game. He likes to be fast. A lot of the exercises he does, it will sort of be to attribute his speed. You think, ‘no mate, you’re quick enough, you need to slow it down sometimes’. And you’ll watch him in games sometimes. He’ll do a big leap into making a save, and you’re thinking ‘you don’t need to do that because you have got the power, just dive and save it’. There are technical things like that he can improve on. He has got the time to improve, but a team like Chelsea you want it now.”
Kepa has big expectations on his shoulders, as the price tag that comes with his name doesn’t perhaps help his cause, but he is playing on a big stage for a team in Europe.
He has been a regular for Frank Lampard this season and has shown signs of improvements under the Englishmen, but there is still signs of erraticness in his game.
There have been comparisons made to Manchester United keeper, David de Gea, and after his early struggles at Old Trafford, he has blossomed into one of the best keepers in the world. Chelsea fans will be hoping their man between the sticks follows suit.
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