Ronald Koeman has revealed the real reason his 16-month spell as Everton manager came to an abrupt end earlier this week, and Arsenal have a LOT to do with it.
Not only did Arsene Wenger’s side put five goals past the Toffees at the weekend to send them into the relegation zone, there was also a huge moment in the transfer window.
Talking in his first interview since being sacked, Koeman admitted that the failure to sign Olivier Giroud has cost him his job, recognising him as one of the best strikers in Europe.
Giroud was the subject of uncertainty over the summer with his future as an Arsenal player in doubt following the £52million arrival of French teammate Alexandre Lacazette.
Losing a role in the starting XI week after week was one thing, but the likelihood of ‘B team’ football in the Europa League and Carabao Cup was a tougher pill to swallow.
The super-sub was then linked with moves away to France and closer to home, Everton, where Koeman planned to add Giroud to his £150million spending spree that saw the likes of Wayne Rooney also join the club.
However, in a transfer scenario like this one a lot of things can be misinterpreted, so Koeman has come out to put the record straight on what may have been his biggest regret.
I had Olivier Giroud in the building.
He would have fitted perfectly but, at the very last moment, he decided that he’d rather live in London and stay at Arsenal.
That was really hard to swallow. You tell me, where you can get a better striker?
There’s no doubt that Giroud could have made a huge impact at Goodison Park given their poor goalscoring record so far this season, but many of us will be happy he decided to stay.
He’s already come up with the goods to snatch three points against Leicester City and Red Star Belgrade right at the death of a game, and you can’t put a price on that!
As well as securing a role as our secret weapon, Giroud also bagged his 100th goal for the club against BATE Borisov earlier this month and will now look to challenge Lacazette for the top spot.
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