Mikel Arteta hinted he doesn’t have a “cup squad”, raising doubts over whether Kepa Arrizabalaga will feature against his former club Chelsea on Wednesday night.
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Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Mikel Arteta denied he considered certain players to be part of his “cup squad” and insisted he was simply picking his squad to try to make Arsenal as successful as possible.
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“I don’t believe the players will be able to play,” Arteta insisted. “I believe we compete and we want to compete in all games with the best moments of the players we have and that’s what we try to do.”
But the comments clearly raise questions over whether Kepa Arrizabalaga will feature in Wednesday’s trip to Chelsea.
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Kepa is widely considered Arsenal’s cup goalkeeper, suggesting that even if Raya is first-choice in the Premier League, he will be preferred over David Raya for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final.
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But if Arteta’s comments are true, then he will be picking the most suitable candidate on Wednesday night.
When pressed on this, Arteta confirmed that his main focus is winning games, although he also added that goalkeepers are a special case.
“That’s because ultimately our job and my job is to prepare the team to win in the best possible way, every game we play,” Arteta said.
“Every game is different, every game requires different qualities and players, players have their moments when they are very high and when they don’t have a lot of confidence and playing time, every situation is different.
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“Beyond that, goalkeepers are a very special case because obviously they have less opportunities every week than other players. But we try to treat them in that sense.”
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Kepa has generally performed well in his Arsenal appearances so far, save for the goal he conceded against Portsmouth at the weekend.
But Raya is widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, so it’s hard to argue that the Gunners wouldn’t have benefited from having him between the posts in the semi-finals.
It’s a tough call for Arteta and his squad on Wednesday night may tell us more about his ‘cup keepers’ philosophy than his press conference.
