Kepa the victim of his world record fee

Kepa Arrizabalaga at Chelsea was simply the victim of his £71m price tag.

He was deemed the best possible option when Thibaut Courtois forced his exit from the Blues in 2018.

Chelsea had gone for Alisson but he chose Liverpool with Kepa deemed the next best option, however, Athletic Bilbao forced the Blues to pay his full release clause.

After his wobble early in his Blues career, the Spain international quickly proved not to be worth either the fee or his previous £190,000-a-week wages.

Yet, he was still highly respected behind the scenes and was deemed a top professional, good squad member and a positive character, despite his strange episode in refusing to be substituted in the Carabao Cup final in 2019.

Aside from that uncharacteristic episode, the 30-year-old has been an absolutely top professional at Chelsea and has proven capable of being a number one or number two between the sticks at Premier League level without causing disruptions.

He has always been a good option but not one to command a world record transfer fee for a goalkeeper, which he still holds to this day.

Kepa could be a great asset to Arsenal and should push current starter David Raya hard.