Arsenal Goalie Kepa Arrizabalaga Relishing Return To Stamford Bridge After EFL Quarters Shootout Heroics

Last Updated:December 24, 2025, 22:39 IST

Kepa has a reunion with former club Chelsea lined up as Arsenal are slated to take on the Blues in the semis of the Cup competition.

Kepa Arrizabalaga. (X)

Premier League side Arsenal moved into the semifinal of the EFL Cup with their win over Crystal Palace on penalties in the quarterfinal clash between the London sides, as Kepa Arrizabalaga stood out for Mikel Arteta and Co.

Kepa has a reunion with former club Chelsea lined up as Arsenal are slated to take on the Blues in the final-four encounter of the Cup competition, and the Spaniard could return to haunt his former side.

“Right now, if you want a trophy, and that’s something that we want, we have to fight against good teams.

“Both semi-finals are big games, and it’s going to be tough, but we’ll prepare well for the game, and we’ll be ready and we’ll go for it."

Marc Guehi’s late strike for Palace against Arsenal in the fifth minute of second half added time forced a penalty shootout, which the Gunners ultimately survived, but Kepa reflected on the side’s undesirable habit of conceding late in games and termed it as one of the things the unit will work towards rectifying going forward.

“We’ve conceded in a couple of games in the last minute so it’s something that we have to look at,"

“But we are in the next round and we’re happy. We made a huge effort. We should have scored a couple in the first half. We played so well. Then the second half was more like 50-50."

“Credit to the guys, they took amazing penalties. They kept us in the game, and they gave me an opportunity to make a save.

“Emotionally, you have to be focused, be strong, because obviously when you concede in the last minute and then you have to go to penalties, you need to 100 percent focused on your penalty takers, you need to save. So it was a change of mindset, and it worked."

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