Frank Lampard admits Chelsea will have to "look at" Kepa Arrizabalaga after recent form
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has hinted that Kepa Arrizabalaga needs to improve after he failed to keep out Hector Bellerin's late equaliser for Arsenal on Tuesday.
Kepa was slow to react to Bellerin's strike in the 87th minute, as Mikel Arteta's side rescued a point despite having been reduced to 10 men in the first half.
The Spanish shot-stopper has endured a disappointing season so far, with Chelsea possessing the worst defensive record of any team in the top eight of the Premier League.
The Blues' backline has been breached on 32 occasions, which is also more often than 11th-placed Crystal Palace.
And Lampard has admitted that Chelsea will need to monitor Kepa, who arrived at Stamford Bridge for a world-record fee for a goalkeeper in 2018.
"I know there's a focus on him at the minute," Lampard said. "That's top-line football. Yeah, with his feet, a couple of times he took too long and nearly gave it away. Sometimes that can change the momentum of a game.
"That's something he will know, has to look at and we will look at. It's normal.
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"Any player, particularly goalkeepers, people will look at you. That's when you stand up and show the mettle you've got. He is not the only one.
"We are in fourth position, which is seen as pretty good. I know and we know there should be another 10 points on the board at least on performance. All of us need to look at those finer details."
As well as the disappointment of dropping two points against 10-man Arsenal, Chelsea may also have lost Tammy Abraham to injury.
The striker completed 90 minutes but was seen hobbling off the pitch at the end of the game.
"He has got a bang on his ankle. He had ice on it," Lampard told reporters. "I haven't spoken to him yet, so I can't really update you on that."
Chelsea return to action with an FA Cup fourth-round clash with Hull this weekend.
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Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).