{"id":179555,"date":"2025-06-12T23:03:17","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T23:03:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/179555\/"},"modified":"2025-06-12T23:03:17","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T23:03:17","slug":"pundit-says-soon-to-be-arsenal-player-was-outstanding-last-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/179555\/","title":{"rendered":"Pundit says soon-to-be Arsenal player was outstanding last season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"634\" data-end=\"890\">Arsenal has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justarsenal.com\/david-ornstein-confirms-arsenal-has-won-the-race-for-spanish-star-kepa\/394150\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">linked with a move for goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga<\/a>, who could become the club\u2019s second choice for next season. The Spanish international is available for a cut-price transfer after returning from his loan spell at Bournemouth last season.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"892\" data-end=\"1213\">The Cherries are unable to afford keeping Kepa, which opens the door for Arsenal to add him to their squad as a replacement for Neto. Neto served as the Gunners\u2019 second-choice goalkeeper last season but made very few appearances, and with the player now back on the South Coast, Arsenal is in need of a new backup option.<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal\u2019s Goalkeeping Situation<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1251\" data-end=\"1603\">Arsenal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justarsenal.com\/joan-garcia-set-to-end-arsenals-drawn-out-transfer-saga-with-decisive-response-to-interest\/393206\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">had initially targeted Joan Garcia<\/a> as a backup goalkeeper, but he has since moved to Barcelona, making it more likely that the club will complete a deal for Kepa during the summer transfer window. The Spaniard is reportedly willing to accept the role of second choice behind David Raya in North London and has no objections to this arrangement.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1605\" data-end=\"1888\">Kepa\u2019s performances at Bournemouth last season were highly impressive, demonstrating his ability to perform at a high level when given the opportunity. His availability presents an attractive option for Arsenal, who require solid and reliable cover for their first-choice goalkeeper.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"676\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Kepa-Arrizabalaga.jpg\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-394065 has-webp\" alt=\"Kepa Arrizabalaga\"  data- style=\"aspect-ratio:1200\/676;max-width:1200px\"\/>(Photo by Michael Steele\/Getty Images)Shaun Wright-Phillips Comments on Kepa<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1933\" data-end=\"2130\">Pundit Shaun Wright-Phillips has expressed surprise that Chelsea would allow Kepa to join a rival club, praising the goalkeeper\u2019s displays last term. Speaking to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/sport\/football\/transfer-news\/arsenal-summer-signing-targets-chelsea-35379379\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mirror Football<\/a>, the former attacker said:<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2132\" data-end=\"2299\">\u201cI don\u2019t understand. It\u2019s like nobody\u2019s been watching Kepa this season. He\u2019s been unbelievable. He is part of the reason why Bournemouth finished where they finished.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2301\" data-end=\"2488\">Wright-Phillips\u2019 comments underline the quality Kepa showed during his loan spell, reinforcing the view that he would be a valuable addition to Arsenal\u2019s squad should the move go through.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2490\" data-end=\"2821\">Arsenal\u2019s goalkeeping department appears set for change, with the potential arrival of Kepa offering a promising solution to the need for a dependable second-choice goalkeeper. The forthcoming weeks will be important in determining whether the Gunners can finalise this transfer and strengthen their squad for the challenges ahead.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2251\" data-end=\"2428\">_____________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><strong>ADMIN COMMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justarsenal.com\/justarsenal-comments-rules-for-subscribers\/313188\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here are some simple rules<\/a> which I must insist commenters follow\u2026.<\/p>\n<p>You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.<\/p>\n<p>CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justarsenal.com\/about-us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">please contact us through this link\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<p>\t\tMore Stories \/ Latest News<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justarsenal.com\/ac-milan-meets-arsenal-over-signing-two-experienced-players\/394420\" title=\"AC Milan meets Arsenal over signing two experienced players\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Saka-celebrating-goal-against-Monaco-with-Saliba-and-Kiwior.jpg\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-382531 has-webp lazyload\" alt=\"Jakub Kiwior\"  data-\/>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justarsenal.com\/tierney-pens-a-heartfelt-message-to-arsenal-fans-after-leaving-the-club\/394419\" title=\"Tierney pens a heartfelt message to Arsenal fans after leaving the club\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Kieran-Tierney-celebrating-scoring-a-goal-v-Southampton.jpg\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-393015 has-webp lazyload\" alt=\"Kieran Tierney celebrating scoring a goal v Southampton\"  data-\/>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justarsenal.com\/ranked-from-best-to-worst-attackers-working-with-arteta\/394428\" title=\"Ranked From Best to Worst: Attackers Working With Arteta\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Martinelli-v-Liverpool.jpg\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-392187 has-webp lazyload\" alt=\"Martinelli v Liverpool\"  data-\/>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t&#13;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arsenal has been linked with a move for goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who could become the club\u2019s second choice&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4100],"tags":[94,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-179555","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114672894529866109","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}