
Chelsea's
record-signing Kepa Arrizabalaga has been backed by team-mate Antonio
Rudiger to fill the void left by Thibaut Courtois' departure to Real Madrid.
Kepa, the world's most expensive goalkeeper following his £72.1m move from
Athletic Bilbao, impressed Rudiger in Chelsea's opening-day Premier League
win at Huddersfield.
Kepa had little to do on his debut as Chelsea cruised to a 3-0 victory in
Maurizio Sarri's first game in charge, but Rudiger was pleased the
Spaniard's first appearance passed without incident.
"I think he (Kepa) did well," Rudiger said. "He tried to speak as much as he
can. He did well with that and we as defenders we needed to help him and we
did that.
"In general, it was a very good day. We all know Thibaut's quality, but
Thibaut's not a Chelsea player anymore.
"I wish him good luck at Real Madrid, but now we have to concentrate on Kepa
because he's our goalkeeper. In his work he's very confident."
Chelsea were found wanting in last week's Community Shield defeat to
Manchester City, but proved too good for Huddersfield despite leaving World
Cup stars Eden Hazard, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Olivier Giroud on the bench.
"We're happy because to be honest our pre-season games were not that good,"
Rudiger said. "But today we can be more happy because we won the game. Three
goals and a clean sheet. That's good for us.
"It's not always easy to adapt because it's a new style of play, but I think
we did well. We moved the ball well and to have a good bench is always
good."