Kepa Arrizabalaga was denied the opportunity of ultimate redemption in Abu Dhabi, but that will only make Sunday’s Carabao Cup Final all the more poignant.
It was at Wembley, in the same competition, when his Chelsea career hit an all-time low. Visions of him ignoring his manager Maurizio Sarri’s instructions to leave the pitch, an image he has struggled to shake off.
As a result, sympathy was scant when the world’s most expensive goalkeeper was so publicly displaced by Edouard Mendy last season.
But the arrival of the Senegal international has turned out to be the making of Kepa, even if the benefits will not be fully felt until he departs Stamford Bridge.
There is little doubt that the 27-year-old’s future lies away from Chelsea, no matter his upturn in form over the past 12 months.
The point is, his rehabilitation away from the spotlight has suddenly made him a wholly saleable asset, which certainly was not the case as recently as last summer.
Kepa was an expensive mistake that hung around Chelsea’s neck. An embarrassment every time he sat on the substitutes’ bench as, not only the world’s costliest keeper, but also the club-record signing until Romelu Lukaku’s £97.5million move from Inter Milan. The Spaniard – at £71.6m – was unplayable and unsellable.
His reputation for high-profile blunders convinced Frank Lampard he needed a new No1 in his second full season in charge. Meanwhile, the incident deep into extra time of the 2019 Carabao Cup Final when refusing to be replaced by spot-kick specialist Willy Caballero ahead of a penalty shootout against Manchester City was a permanent stain on his record. The sight of Sarri, furiously impotent on the touchline, will live long in the memory.
If sufficient offers had come in over the past 18 months, he would have moved on already. That they did not, points to the wider misgivings about him beyond Chelsea, as well as the fee and personal package it would take to extract him.
Credit must go to Thomas Tuchel for keeping him involved and interested despite the obvious hopelessness of his position. But the rebuilding of his form and confidence has been a collective effort.
Technical director Petr Cech and goalkeeper coach Henrique Hilario have worked closely with him, while Kepa’s own attitude has been beyond reproach as he has accepted his role as back-up while providing proper sparring for Mendy on the training ground.
It would have been easy for him to sulk, retreat within himself, particularly in the face of such a personal crisis. Instead he has used the opportunity to improve his game to the point that Chelsea believe he is currently Spain’s best ‘keeper – ahead of David de Gea.
But it was not just a question of attitude. There was an acknowledgement that Kepa needed to alter his game technically if he was ever to become a top-class No1.
His major flaw was identified as a tendency to stay on his line, making the goal bigger and leaving him susceptible to conceding from distance. Given those same traits had earned him his move to Chelsea, he was understandably reluctant to abandon them – particularly at a time when his confidence was already at rock bottom.
That is where his time out of the glare of the first team helped him more than ever. Hours and hours on the training ground gave him the opportunity to hone this new approach and reinvent himself.
Tuchel was sufficiently impressed to reward him with some league appearances towards the end of last season, above and beyond his status as ‘cup ‘keeper.’
But it was the European Super Cup game back in August when his importance to the squad was underlined, coming on to replace Mendy for the shootout victory against Villarreal.
While it was a moment of personal glory for Kepa – and a tactical masterstroke from Tuchel – it is still unsustainable to have a ‘keeper of his worth as an understudy.
That brings us to the current day, and a suitable offer will finally see him say goodbye to Stamford Bridge. Such an offer is expected to come, even if there is an acceptance that Chelsea will still have to take a massive hit on their world-record outlay.
On Sunday – after being dropped in favour of Mendy for the Club World Cup Final two weeks ago - Kepa has the chance to fully extinguish the memories of the moment that has cast a shadow over his career and for which he has since apologised. He also has the chance to put himself squarely in the shop window.
