What's happening to Kepa Arrizabalaga?

The transfer frenzy in the summer of 2018 witnessed two clubs smash the world-record fee for a goalkeeper in four weeks. One of the goalkeepers had proven his mettle on the grandest stages, like the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA World Cup, while the other was just beginning to make his case to be among Europe's best.

After the shock departure of Thibaut Courtois, Chelsea managed to lure Kepa Arrizabalaga to Stamford Bridge on deadline day by triggering his release clause of £71.6 million (€80 million), which left him with some massive boots to fill. But almost two years into Kepa Arrizabalaga's Chelsea spell, the million-dollar question remains to be answered - or in this case the 91-million dollar question.

Is Kepa Arrizabalaga worth the money?

Kepa Arrizabalaga arrived in London from Athletic Bilbao.

Since Roman Abramovich took over at the club in 2003, the Blues were always blessed with goalkeepers most other clubs envied. For more than a decade, Chelsea fans had seen their goal guarded by towering giants like Petr Cech (6ft 5in) and Thibaut Courtois (6ft 6in). Switching to the 6ft 1in Spanish international, presently the third shortest starting goalkeeper in the league, did change the dynamic more than most people expected.

Statistics suggest that when it comes to crosses, Courtois has a claim rate of 0.83 per game compared to Kepa Arrizabelaga's measly 0.36. Consequently, the team encounters almost four times as many crosses that the Spaniard does not put out of danger.

Oftentimes, he steps back to his own goal-line rather than hurl himself to sabotage crosses coming around the six-yard box like most goalkeepers do. As a result, a half-decent connection off of an oncoming forward is all it takes to put the ball past the keeper in a heartbeat. The inability to dominate the area around the six-yard box is a predicament a goalkeeper in the Premier League can ill afford to have. This has put the team at a significant disadvantage and hasn't helped the case of a backline that was already struggling to make itself watertight.

The rate at which Kepa Arrizabalaga concedes goals from distance also seems to be a cause for concern, with more shots eluding his hands than eluding the goal. While some players have had to make exquisite attempts to expose this weakness, others have seen their miscued crosses ending up in the back of the net. More often than not, this keeps Chelsea fans biting their nails when the team has to defend a free-kick. These frailties were painfully on display when Liverpool visited Stamford Bridge this season on game-week 6.

Kepa Arrizabalaga has also been accused of having soft wrists, with many shots on his goal pawed into the side-netting rather than outside his goal. This debility in particular has frustrated many fans and pundits alike who believe several goals conceded this season were well within his reach and were expected to be saved by a top-class goalkeeper. While Frank Lampard tried to defend him on certain occasions, he ultimately decided to drop his preferred number one following a string of below-par performances.

For a player who appears to have some obvious shortcomings, one might be led to believe that it was Athletic Bilbao that got the better deal in this transfer. But is it so?

Fortunately for the Basque country native, his deficiencies are not impossible to fix. While he is shorter than most of his counterparts, he does have time in his hands to learn from some of the best in the business and mould his game to suit what he has. After all, some of the most renowned Spanish goalkeepers like Iker Casillas and Victor Valdes themselves were shorter than Kepa Arrizabalaga, but their heights were never impediments when they were in their primes.

The key here is that Kepa Arrizabalaga is yet to hit his zenith and is still in that phase where goalkeepers hone their skills. He is already among the elites when it comes to modern-day goalkeeping requirements with his wide passing range and sweeper keeper abilities.

While his recent performances may not have lived up to his billing, the reality is Chelsea do not have a white elephant in their possession, but rather an uncut diamond that needs some polishing. They need to persist with Kepa Arrizabalaga to finally get their money's worth in the long run.

Frank Lampard needs to be patient with Kepa Arrizabalaga.