Kepa Arrizabalaga is now close to a transfer to Arsenal, with the Gunners seeing value in his low release clause at Chelsea.
LONDON, ENGLAND: Kepa Arrizabalaga of AFC Bournemouth reacts during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and AFC Bournemouth at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on March 09, 2025. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
James McNicholas reported for The Athletic this week that Arsenal had made Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga their top goalkeeper target for the summer transfer window, following Joan Garcia’s apparent decision to join FC Barcelona.
For a long time, a Garcia move to Arsenal seemed like a foregone conclusion. But the pursuit cooled with the arrival of Andrea Berta, who evidently didn’t feel the Gunners had over £20m to spare on a backup goalkeeper this summer.
Kepa is clearly the cheaper option. The 30-year-old has a £5m release clause in his Chelsea deal, and Arsenal reportedly see that as a market opportunity.
LONDON, ENGLAND: Kepa Arrizabalaga of AFC Bournemouth reacts during the Premier League match between Fulham FC and AFC Bournemouth at Craven Cottage on December 29, 2024. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
David Ornstein now reports for the same outlet that Arsenal are close to finalising a deal, with Kepa willing to join and fight for starts with David Raya.
That was always going to be the most difficult part of the transfer, given Kepa is used to starting matches. He won’t have any guarantees of minutes in north London.
BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND: Kepa Arrizabalaga of Bournemouth signals to his team-mates during the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Brentford FC at Vitality Stadium on March 15, 2025. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images
Though still contracted to Chelsea, it’s been a while now since Kepa has featured for the club. The Spaniard made 20 appearances on loan with Real Madrid in 2023/24, then 35 appearances on another loan with Bournemouth in 2024/25.
Those two moves have evidently convinced Arsenal that the goalkeeper has value at £5m.
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