Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Chelsea news: Kepa Arrizabalaga to be sacked? Pundit launches scathing attack on star
CHELSEA goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga could not complain if he was SACKED following Sunday’s bust-up at Wembley.
Chelsea: Maurizio Sarri should DROP Kepa says Ian Darke
That is the verdict of Premier League commentator and ESPN FC pundit Ian Darke.
Kepa refused to be substituted deep into extra time of Chelsea’s Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City.
The Spaniard appeared to be struggling with cramp and second-choice goalkeeper Willy Caballero was ready to replace him.
Manager Maurizio Sarri expressed his fury at Kepa on the touchline as he disobeyed his demand.
For me Kepa couldn’t complain if he was sacked by Chelsea
Sarri has since said the matter is closed but Kepa has been fined a week’s wages by the club and could be dropped against Tottenham on Wednesday.
Darke says he has never seen a situation like what happened at Wembley before in his long commentary career.
But he does not think Kepa will be sacked after costing Chelsea a world-record fee for a goalkeeper of £71.6million last summer.
“I’ve watched football for half a century and more, I’ve never seen anything like that and I don’t think most football professionals have seen anything like that, certainly the referee and the officials,” Darke said.
“It was outrageous, amateurish, scandalous.
“It was like an eight-year-old, a spoiled kid, in an under-8s game saying ‘I’m not coming off, I want to play on’.
“Misunderstanding? No way at all.
“He sees the manager gesticulating wildly on the sides. He sees Caballero ready to come on, it’s pretty clear.
“What he did really was turn what was turning out to be quite a good day for Sarri, because he tweaked quite well his tactics, they shut Manchester City out for two hours, he turned it into a bad day because he [Sarri] gets all the bad press the way it is at the moment.
“But for me Kepa couldn’t complain if he was sacked by Chelsea. That won’t happen, he’s a £70m-goalkeeper.
“But he should be dropped against Spurs on Wednesday.”
Chelsea can return to the top four on Wednesday if they beat Tottenham and both Manchester United and Arsenal do not win.