Maurizio Sarri Wants to 'Send a Message' with Kepa Decision Against Tottenham

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri said he wants to "send a message" with his decision on whether or not to start goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Wednesday. 

It was confirmed on Monday the Blues have fined their record signing after he appeared to refuse to be substituted during the latter stages of the Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City.

While both Kepa and Sarri said it was a "misunderstanding," the Chelsea manager added he has yet to decide if the Spaniard will start against Spurs, per Jake Polden of the Daily Mirror.

"Maybe yes; maybe no," he said when asked whether Kepa would feature. "It will be a decision for the group. For all the players."

Sarri later added "I want to send a message to my group," and "the message could be Kepa is on the pitch or out of the pitch."

Liam Twomey of ESPN FC provided more context to what the Chelsea boss had to say during his press conference on Tuesday:

Sarri also said it's important Kepa isn't too heavily criticised after apologising for his actions.

"He said sorry to the technical staff, but it was enough," the Italian said, per Polden. "Then he said sorry to his team-mates, the club. He made a big mistake, but we need to be taller and we don't want to kill him."

The scenes at the end of the game, which Chelsea lost 4-3 on penalties after 120 minutes of goalless football, were farcical, as Kepa refused to be taken out of the game at the expense of Willy Caballero.

Sarri was furious on the sidelines as the incident unfolded and at one stage appeared poised to storm back to the dressing room. However, he played down any suggestion that he was ready to walk out on the team:

The manager now faces a big decision on whether or not to play the 24-year-old in what is a huge game for the Blues.

While Kepa riled the coach, he has performed well in the main this season having joined from Athletic Bilbao in the summer for a world-record transfer fee. BT Sport commentator Ian Darke thinks the goalkeeper should be dropped:

Blues writer Mark Worrall believes Kepa should play and that a strong performance would help the club move on:

If he is in the side on Wednesday, it will be intriguing to see what the reaction is from the Stamford Bridge crowd, as plenty of Chelsea supporters would have been miffed by the way the goalkeeper acted.

Chelsea go into the game down in sixth place in the table, three points behind Arsenal in fourth spot and two behind Manchester United in fifth, having played a game fewer than both.