Sarri refuses to guarantee Arrizabalaga will start Tottenham match

Maurizio Sarri has failed to confirm whether Kepa Arrizabalaga will start in goal for Chelsea when they face Tottenham on Wednesday.

The Spaniard refused to be substituted during the Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City on Sunday, as Sarri tried to introduce Willy Caballero in the dying moments of extra-time as the match went to penalties.

The Chelsea manager was visibly seething after being undermined by his keeper and while he played down the incident as a misunderstanding, Arrizabalaga has since been fined one week’s wages, around £195,000-a-week.

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Arrizabalaga, the world’s most expensive goalkeeper after being signed by Chelsea for £71.6million last August, has apologised for his actions, but when Sarri was asked if he would be selected, he remained coy on the matter.

“I don’t know, I don’t know. I have to decide. Maybe yes. Maybe no. I think he is fit,” Sarri said at his press conference.

“Yesterday he had only a recovery training session, so we have to assess him, but I think so.

“I have to decide for my group. Not with my group. I want to send a message to my group.

The message could be Kepa is on the pitch, or Kepa is out the pitch. I have to decide what is better for my group.

“It will be a decision for the good of the group. For the other players, all the players.”

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Chelsea will now hope to put the incident and disappointment of the final behind them and turn their attentions back to the Premier League, as they prepare for consecutive London derby matches, starting tomorrow with Spurs and then they travel to Fulham on Sunday.

Tottenham, meanwhile, are without Dele Alli and Eric Dier for the game at Stamford Bridge.