Penalty shootout hero Kepa Arrizabalaga celebrates win over Spurs with first English language interview

Kepa Arrizabalaga may be the world’s most expensive goalkeeper, but his media profile remains remarkably small. That’s possibly a welcome change from the parseltongued megaphone of he who came before, but it has also left us without much else to go on to get to know the serious young man other than his on-pitch personality, play, and behavior — all of which have been solid-to-great so far.

Fortunately, considering his stated intent (from day one) to become a Chelsea legend and his remarkably smooth transition to Premier League football and, probably, life at the club, we should have plenty of time to do so.

Yesterday’s penalty shootout heroics did reveal a more emotional side as Kepa celebrated his save from Lucas Moura with great gusto (just before David Luiz sealed the win with his kick), and afterwards, Kepa also showcased his improving language skills, too.

Speaking to Chelsea TV after the win — you can catch the brief interview on the official website or in the silly official app — Kepa praised his teammates for a match well played and talked about his first months of life at the club.

“Yes [I’m very happy to reach the final]. It’s my first final.

“Today we played very well, against a very good team. We are very happy. I’m happy [with the save], but our team performance was very good. And the atmosphere today at Stamford Bridge was also very good.”

“We know that Manchester City is a very strong team, but we go to Wembley to win.

“Yes, [life here] is different than in the Basque Country, but I’m very happy and comfortable with the team and my teammates.”

-Kepa Arrizabalaga; source: Chelsea TV

May it be the first of many English interviews and the first of just as many finals!

Well done, Kepa!