Pundit thinks Sarri must drop Kepa to show strength

Paul Merson insists Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri must “stay strong” and drop Kepa Arrizabalaga following the “non-subbing” incident during the Blues’ League Cup penalty shootout defeat against Manchester City.

As the League Cup final match looked headed for a penalty shootout, the Chelsea goalkeeper disobeyed Sarri by refusing to go off with Willy Caballero, a penalty shootout specialist, ready to come on. While Sarri went volcanic after Kepa’s brazen act of defiance, the ex-Napoli manager played down the incident after the game, calling it a “misunderstanding.” On the other hand, Kepa has already apologised for his actions during the match.

😳 – Have you EVER seen anything like it!?

Maurizio Sarri tries to substitute Kepa Arrizabalaga for Willy Caballero, but Kepa refuses to come off and Sarri is absolutely FURIOUS! 😡 pic.twitter.com/Q81v6ry3Kk

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 24, 2019

Merson: Sarri must make a statement

Yet while David Luiz has made perfectly clear that the 60-year-old still has complete command of the dressing room, many believe Kepa’s disobedience may send the wrong signal to his Blues teammates, and former England star Merson thinks Sarri must make a strong statement by dropping the Spanish goalkeeper when the Blues entertain Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

“I think the manager has to stay strong and tell him he’s not playing – he’s got to,” said the former footballer now turned pundit. “If you’re the manager then you’ve got to tell him you’ve shown me no respect otherwise the rest of the players will be thinking ‘wow, come on’.”

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‘Look to George Graham’s example’

The pundit believes Sarri must take his cue from George Graham, who gave Merson the elbow at Arsenal when the midfielder once made fun of him.

“I laughed at him once and I didn’t play for two months,” added Merson. “And, we played Huddersfield in the League Cup and I walked straight down the tunnel. I didn’t play for a month after that. I didn’t show enough respect and got punished so you don’t do it again, although I done it twice… so maybe don’t use me as an example! You’ve got to give your manager the respect.”

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However, David Seaman disagreed with his former teammate and urged Sarri to play Kepa in between the sticks owing to the west Londoners’ push for Champions League football.

“If Chelsea aren’t going for the top four it’s an easy decision but they are, so they’ve got to play their best team,” said the former England goalkeeper. “It may show a bit of a weakness in Sarri but Kepa should play.”