Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher on Premier League Extra Time discussing Arteta’s decision to start Kepa over David Raya in the Carabao Cup final:
“I’ve got strong views on playing the second goalkeeper. I don’t like it, but I can understand it in some situations.
“But Mikel Arteta does not owe Kepa anything. He owes Arsenal supporters the best possible chance of winning the first trophy in six years. They’ve won one trophy in nine years.
“The goalkeeper comes to the club because he knows he’s second choice. He can play through the rounds, but once you get to the final, it has to change for me because they haven’t won enough trophies and they need to get over the line.
“But Pep does owe Trafford. He bought him in at the start of the season to be the No1, didn’t think he was good enough and then bought Donnarumma in – not easy for the lad.
“Also, they’ve won four of them. The pressure on Man City today to win another Carabao Cup is not the same.
“People might also flip and say Kelleher and Liverpool. The reason he got so many opportunities to play in finals is because Liverpool were desperate to keep him – that is not the point with Kepa.
“He was signed as a No2 and he’s not good enough at the top level – we’ve seen that at Chelsea.
“David Raya is not just the first choice goalkeeper, we’re arguably talking about Arsenal’s best player this season, so it’s not just changing No1 for No2, it’s changing one of your best players when you haven’t got a history of winning with this team.”
