Paul Merson has made his prediction for Brentford v Chelsea (Picture: Sky Sports)
Paul Merson admits he has been surprised by Kepa Arrizabalaga’s resurgence at Stamford Bridge and revealed his prediction for Chelsea’s upcoming Premier League clash against Brentford.
Arrizabalaga has started Chelsea’s last seven games and impressed between the sticks, having initially come into the side to replace the injured Edouard Mendy.
Mendy is back available for selection following a brief spell on the sidelines but new Blues boss Graham Potter has continued to pick Arrizabalaga, who became the most expensive goalkeeper in history when he moved from Athletic Bilbao in 2018.
Arrizabalaga initially struggled at Stamford Bridge and was replaced as Chelsea’s number one by French goalkeeper Mendy, but the Spaniard is enjoying a revival in west London.
Merson was blown away by the shot-stopper’s performance in Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Sunday but admits the Blues cannot continue to rely on Arrizabalaga’s heroics, starting on Wednesday night when they face west London rivals Brentford.
Chelsea have won four Premier League games in a row under Potter but face a Brentford side who have impressed this season to move into the top-half of the table, level on points with Liverpool.
Kepa helped Chelsea beat Aston Villa on Sunday (Picture: Getty)
‘I think Chelsea were lucky [against Aston Villa],’ Merson told Sportskeeda. ‘Kepa had one of the best goalkeeping performances I’ve ever seen.
‘I didn’t think he had it in him, to be honest. After the amount of stick he’s got, I’m really pleased for him.
‘This is going to be a hard game for Chelsea. If they play like they did against Aston Villa, Brentford will punish them. They can’t keep conceding chances like that, especially against the better teams in the Premier League.
‘Chelsea are on a bit of a roll at the moment and they’ve got to ride their luck. They can’t keep relying on Kepa to pull off performances like that.
‘Mason Mount is scoring goals as well now, and that makes him a phenomenal player.
‘Both teams are finding their feet at the moment and have been a little weak at the back. I think Chelsea will make it to the top four this season and they should be able to win this game, I’ll go 3-1.’
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‘I’m really pleased for him.’