Arsenal have signed Spanish goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga from Chelsea in a £5m transfer.
Arrizabalaga’s move has ended a difficult two-year period at Chelsea in which he was loaned out to Real Madrid then Bournemouth, after five seasons as one of Chelsea’s main goalkeeping options following his move to Stamford Bridge in 2018 from Athletic Bilbao.
Arsenal in-turn have secured a goalkeeper who can regularly challenge David Raya after loanee, Neto struggled to dislodge the Spaniard as their first-choice goalkeeper, having activated a £5m release clause.
Following confirmation of his move, Arrizabalaga spoke of his happiness at making the switch to North London.
“I’m really, really happy to be here, really excited and looking forward to what is coming.
“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.”
Manager, Mikel Arteta added: “We are really happy to have Kepa joining us. He is a player we know, having come up against him many times in recent seasons. He brings a wealth of experience, which his teammates will benefit from, and he has a real hunger to win.
“Kepa works hard and will elevate our levels. I know he will fit in perfectly, already knowing some of his teammates, and we are really excited about his future with us.”
The Spaniard will wear the number 13 shirt for the 2025-26 season.
Arrizabalaga began his career at Bilbao but made his senior debut with Basconia before he re-joined Bilbao in their B-Team in 2013 for two years, before he was loaned out to Ponferradina then Real Valladolid between January 2015 – May 2016.
Summer 2016 saw him graduate to Bilbao’s first-team where he made 54 appearances before he moved to Chelsea in August 2018, which saw him make 163 appearances for the Blues which saw him win the Europa League in his first season.
Arrizabalaga went on to win 2020-21 UEFA Champions League title with Chelsea, which was followed by UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup the following season, before he fell out of favour and spent 23-24 and 24-25 seasons on loan at Real Madrid then Bournemouth respectively.
