Everton - Arsenal: For whom does the bell toll?

(Baonghean.vn) - Both the home team and the away team are in a dire situation, another defeat will make it difficult for coach Ronald Koeman or coach Arsene Wenger to keep their seats.

After the 1-2 loss to Lyon in the Europa League, coach Ronald Koeman admitted: "The final decision belongs to the club's board of directors, not me. I am a strong person. I am trying to do everything. If the club's board of directors feels that I am not the right person, they can inform me of the final decision." That means, the Dutch strategist is mentally prepared to pack his bags and leave Goodison Park if Everton continue to receive bad results in the near future.

In fact, with what is happening at Everton, it is quite surprising that coach Ronald Koeman has not been sacked. In modern football, patience seems to be a luxury for fans and team owners. Even a great and veteran coach like Mourinho had to leave when Chelsea went through a series of bad matches at the beginning of the 2015/2016 season. Remember, 7 months ago, the "special one" had just helped the Stamford Bridge team win a double in the domestic league (Premier League and English League Cup). Therefore, Ronald Koeman is still in the position at Everton at this time, which is too much of a favor to the Board of Directors.

Coach Ronald Koeman will likely be fired if Everton fail to beat Arsenal in this round. Photo: Internet.

But everything has its limits. The owners at Goodison Park will not be able to be patient any longer if Everton still cannot improve their performance. Especially in the last transfer period, the team nicknamed The Toffees spent nearly 140 million pounds to help coach Ronald Koeman bring in satisfactory new players. However, the results that Everton has received up to now are not commensurate with the pounds that the team has spent. A gloomy atmosphere is covering Goodison Park.

In the Premier League after 8 rounds, Rooney and his teammates are stuck in 15th place on the rankings with only 8 points. In the Europa League, Everton also only has 1 point after 3 matches in the group stage. The playing style of the Goodison Park team is really pale, inflexible and quite weak. The image of a "rebellious" team has been replaced by a weak collective. Of course, the person responsible is none other than captain Ronald Koeman. Therefore, in the battle with Arsenal in this round, the command for Everton is to win.

On the other side of the front line, Arsenal of coach Arsene Wenger is also in a similar situation. Although playing quite well in the Europa League (winning all 3 matches), the "gunners" are also playing poorly in the Premier League. After the first 8 rounds, the team at Emirates Stadium has only got 13 points, temporarily standing in 6th place on the rankings and is 9 points behind the leading team Man City. The championship in the most prestigious tournament in the "foggy land" is gradually moving away from the reach of coach Arsene Wenger and his team.

Arsenal fans are constantly putting pressure on the board to fire manager Arsene Wenger. Photo: Internet.

In addition, the internal conflicts in the team are quite tense. The relationship between coach Arsene Wenger and star number 1 Sanchez has reached its peak. According to information, during the training session to prepare for the match with Crvena Zvezda in the Europa League, the Chilean player ignored the handshake of coach Arsene Wenger. That is proving that Arsenal is deeply divided internally. Not to mention, conductor Ozil and defender Bellerin are also facing harsh criticism from the team's fans. As for coach Arsene Wenger, there is no need to say more. Simply, Arsenal fans are just waiting for "Wenger out" to celebrate.

Having met opponents in the same dire situation as themselves, both Everton and Arsenal see this as a good opportunity to temporarily escape the dark mud. The battle taking place at Goodison Park is a 'stake' for coach Ronald Koeman to hold on to his seat at Everton for a while longer, and coach Arsene Wenger also has similar thoughts. Who will smile, who will trudge into the Goodison Park tunnel? The answer will be revealed after 90 fiery minutes in the blue half of Liverpool./.

Thanh Hung