Arsenal quietly dropped an unpopular Kepa Arrizabalaga hint

The games keep coming thick and fast for Arsenal, specifically matches on the road. Currently in the midst of four successive away matches, the Gunners will travel to Portman Road to take on Ipswich Town in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night.

As it is a Carabao Cup tie, mass rotation is expected to Mikel Arteta's lineup. The 3,000 Gooners venturing to Suffolk are looking forward to seeing Marli Salmon and Max Dowman in action, with Piero Hincapié, Martín Zubimendi, Mikel Merino, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyökeres all set to come into the XI. Well, have Arsenal all confirmed that there will be a change to their goalkeeper?

Arsenal's pre-match graphic on Twitter, Instagram and others features Kepa Arrizabalaga. Of course, the social media team do not pick the starting lineup, but this is a strong indication that the 31 year old will be donning the gloves at Portman Road on Tuesday. So, is this the right decision?

Well, first and foremost, this is not an enormous surprise. Kepa started all ten domestic cup ties last season, his only other two appearances coming against Kairat Almaty in the Champions League and at Selhurst on the final day of the Premier League season, when the title had already been secured.

However, his exploits at Wembley last March led to many Gooners hoping he would never represent the club again. The world's most expensive goalkeeper of all-time gifted Nico O'Reilly Man City's opener in last season's EFL Cup Final, while his mediocre ability on the ball stifled Arsenal in possession, and was a key reason behind their defeat.

The signing of Illan Meslier on a free transfer from Leeds United seemed to signal the end of Kepa's time at Arsenal, especially considering he has a £5 million release clause. Alas, perhaps due to lack of interest, he remains the number two. This is despite some less than impressive performances during pre-season.

With David Raya part of the Spain squad that won the World Cup, Arrizabalaga started all four pre-season matches against Girona, Real Betis, Borussia Dortmund and Como. However, he continued to look unconvincing and chaotic. This was especially the case for Rodrigo Riquelme's opener in Dublin, charging out of his goal, getting nowhere near the ball and flattening Kai Havertz in the process.

In short, Kepa did very little during pre-season to suggest he is up to the standard, with many wanting to see Meslier given an opportunity instead. Speaking on Monday Night Football, following his heroics at the Stadium of Light, Jamie Carragher labelled Raya Arsenal's most important player. Well, this is part due to the quality of his deputies, or lack thereof, so let's just hope that, come ten o'clock on Tuesday night, Kepa is not the story.

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