Kepa Arrizabalaga Still Chelsea's No. 1 Goalkeeper, Says Maurizio Sarri

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has said Kepa Arrizabalaga remains his No. 1 goalkeeper, despite being on the bench for the Blues' 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.

The Italian believes the club "cannot kill" the 24-year-old despite his refusal to come off in Sunday's Carabao Cup final shootout defeat to Manchester City. 

The Spaniard was dropped in place of Willy Caballero, 37, on Wednesday. Sarri spoke to reporters after the London derby win and appeared to suggest Kepa's punishment may be over: 

"I think it was the right decision. Kepa made a big mistake. He paid with the club. Then he had to pay with the team. But now I think we have to stop. Kepa, from tomorrow, will be with us.

"I don't know if he will be on the pitch in the next match [against Fulham] or not, but in one of the next two, for sure. We cannot kill him. When you are young, I think you can make mistakes. The most important thing is that you need to understand very well, after every mistake. So now, for me, the issue is closed."

Sarri spoke to BT Sport's Des Kelly straight after the match and clarified his message was to illustrate "we are a group and not 25 players":

When asked whether the £71.5 million signing from Athletic Bilbao remains his No. 1, he replied: "Of course."

Kepa, 24, went down with cramp near the end of extra time in Sunday's shootout defeat to City but insisted he was fine and could play on despite Sarri's efforts to bring on Caballero for the penalties.

The Chelsea manager reacted angrily to his goalkeeper's refusal, and club legend John Terry agreed Kepa should have gone off regardless of whether he felt OK to play on, as Sky Sports shared:

Pedro cut in from the right wing to score an impressive first for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday before Kieran Tripper's misplaced pass to Hugo Lloris resulted in a calamitous second with five minutes left.

Neither stand-in goalkeeper Caballero nor Spurs stopper Hugo Lloris made a save on the evening, per WhoScored.com. Pedro's goal was the only one of 20 shots during the match that hit the target.

Chelsea remain sixth after Manchester United (fifth) and Arsenal (fourth) also won on Wednesday, with three points distancing the Gunners from the Blues.

Sarri—still in his maiden season at Stamford Bridge—has overseen back-to-back league victories and underlined consistency as a key factor that's been lacking:

"It's not easy to have consistency of results, but now we need points. It was really very important tonight because we are fighting for the top four. I don't know but, maybe, with this result we can involve Tottenham in this battle [for the top four]. The gap is very large, seven points, but maybe. It's not easy, of course."

The Italian will have passed a test for some by dropping Kepa, and journalist Matt Law suggested the controversy could even turn into a positive for him and the club:

Chelsea are back in Premier League action on Sunday, when they travel to Fulham, where Sarri will decide whether Kepa has served his punishment on the sidelines.