Kepa Arrizabalaga reveals former Chelsea star ‘supported’ his transfer to Arsenal

Kepa Arrizabalaga insists he is ‘really happy’ at Arsenal and has been ‘amazed’ by the quality in the squad since his move from Chelsea.

Once the most expensive goalkeeper in the world, Arrizabalaga joined Arsenal for just £5m over the summer.

Arsenal signed the 31-year-old as back-up to first-choice Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya, who has established himself as one of the best in the world over the past three seasons.

Chelsea spent £72m to sign Arrizabalaga from Athletic Bilbao in 2018 but the Spain international underwhelmed at Stamford Bridge, making a string of mistakes before being dropped.

Arrizabalaga spent last season on loan at Bournemouth before completing a permanent move away from Chelsea over the summer and linking up with Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.

Despite only making one appearance for the Gunners so far, Arrizabalaga says he is ‘really enjoying’ his time in north London.

‘It’s been really good, really good,’ he told Arsenal’s official website.

‘I’m really happy to be here and I feel I’m already adapting myself in the team. It’s such a nice group of people and that makes everything easier. 

‘There haven’t been any surprises really. How a changing room works is always quite similar. But what I would say is that the quality of people here – on and off the pitch – is really amazing.’

Arrizabalaga says his transition to Arsenal was made easier by ex-Chelsea teammate Kai Havertz, who also swapped the blues for the reds.

‘In the first month or so you have to settle into the surroundings, off the pitch as well if you have family, but I’m used to this,’ he added.

‘Also we have had a few new players this summer, so we can all share our thoughts on some of the new situations for us.

‘There are some Spanish players that I know from the national team, and that’s really good, especially in the first week.

‘I knew Kai as well; he’s been a big supporter for me. We chatted a lot during the summer.

‘He was on holiday with [Arsenal captain] Martin Odegaard so we had that time to chat and share our thoughts about things.’

Arrizabalaga believes Arsenal are going the ‘right way’ this season, with Arteta’s side impressing in both the Premier League and Champions League.

The Gunners sit top of the Premier League after seven games while they are joint-top of the Champions League group phase with two wins from two.

‘I think we’ve had a really good start in all the competitions,’ said Arrizabalaga, who was on the bench during Chelsea’s Champions League win in 2021.

‘Obviously, we know the season is going to be long and we have to keep the standards up, but I think we are in the right way.

‘We are preparing everything well, we are working well and hopefully we can have another chat about this in May!’

Even when not in the team, Arrizabalaga is keen to contribute by ‘helping’ Raya and ‘pushing’ him ‘hard’ in training.

‘We work together and push each other hard,’ the Spaniard continued. ‘The main thing is to help the team. The main target of any goalkeeper is to help the team and to do your job.

‘Obviously, it’s a special position on the pitch. We spend a lot of time with our coach Inaki, pushing each other, and training has been very demanding, which is good.

‘We prepare ourselves to face situations we will have in games. The more we can do in training, and the more work we can do in the week, it makes the games a little bit easier.

‘We have to push each other and we’re doing that. We both love to train, love to train hard and push each other in every session.

‘As Inaki says, sometimes you have to suffer in training so that the games feel easier. That’s exactly what we are doing.’

Arsenal return to Premier League action next weekend against London rivals Fulham, who are currently 14th in the table

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