Jamie Carragher has criticised Mikel Arteta’s decision to start Kepa Arrizabalaga in the Carabao Cup final, saying that the Arsenal boss “does not owe Kepa anything.”
Arteta stuck with his second-choice keeper Kepa in goal on Sunday after he had played throughout the competition.
The Spain international was at fault for Manchester City’s opener in the second-half after failing to deal with a Rayan Cherki cross before Nico O’Reilly got the first of his scored the first of his two headers.
And Carragher was critical of Arteta for starting Kepa, a player the former Liverpool defender believes is “not good enough at the top level.”
“I’ve got strong views on playing the second goalkeeper. I don’t like it, but I can understand it in some situations,” Carragher told Sky Sports.
Kepa Arrizabalaga had a nightmare Carabao Cup final on Sunday. Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
“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.
“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.
“People might also flip and say Kelleher and Liverpool [started in their Carabao Cup final win in 2022]. 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 No. 2 and he’s not good enough at the top level — we’ve seen that at Chelsea.”
Carragher wasn’t the only former Liverpool player with a strong view on the decision to start Kepa with Jamie Redknapp calling it a “monumental error.”
“I know people will say it’s sentiment and he played in the earlier rounds, but Kepa is not as good as Raya,” he said.
“That’s why he is the No 2. So why, in a major cup final when you’re trying to get across the line and you’ve not won a trophy in so long, do you decide to play him? You have to take responsibility for that. That is a monumental error.
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“He’s not a bad goalkeeper — he’s not as good as Raya. It has backfired big time.”
Arteta himself defended his starting lineup, calling Kepa an “outstanding goalkeeper,” while adding that errors are part of the game.
“I would do it again. he deserved to play this game and has been phenomenal for us. Errors are part of football any anyone can make them,” he said after Arsenal fell to defeat at Wembley.
“I have to do what I think is right which is honest and fair. Kepa is an outstanding keeper, and it would’ve been very unfair on him to do something different.
“We are guided by what we see. What he’s done in the competition, and how he helped us to get us to the final, I believe it was the right thing to do.
“Errors are part of football, and unfortunately it happened in a crucial moment.”
