Kepa Joins Arsenal In £5m Deal From Chelsea

Arsenal have completed the £5m signing of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga from Chelsea.

Spain international Kepa joins the Gunners on a three-year deal after spending last term on loan at Bournemouth, where he made 35 appearances in all competitions.

“I’m really, really happy to be here, really excited and looking forward to what is coming,” he said.

“The ambition that is shown in this club, when I talk with Mikel [Arteta] and Inaki [Cana], how much they show me their desire to win… I think we are so close to winning and, hopefully, altogether, we can achieve it.”

The 30-year-old is still the world’s most expensive goalkeeper, having moved to the Blues in 2018 from boyhood club Athletic Bilbao for £71m.

His arrival at the Emirates will provide competition for his compatriot David Raya.

Neto was on loan at Arsenal from the Cherries during the 2024-25 campaign but they elected not to sign the Brazilian on a permanent basis.

Kepa played 163 times for Chelsea and was in the squads that lifted the Champions League, Europa League and Club World Cup.

He also spent a year on loan at Real Madrid and helped them win La Liga and the Champions League during the 2023-24 season.

He was deemed the best possible option when Thibaut Courtois forced his exit from the Blues in 2018 and Alisson turned down Chelsea to join Liverpool.

Athletic Club then forced the Blues to pay Kepa’s full release clause.

After his wobble early in his Chelsea career, Kepa quickly proved he was not worth either the fee nor his previous £190,000-a-week wages.

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

Kepa has always been a good player but was never seen to be one who would command a world record transfer fee for a goalkeeper.

Bbc.com