Everton boss Ronald Koeman aiming to beat Arsenal and Manchester United to top-five finish

Posted Saturday, April 22, 2017 by squawka.com

Everton manager Ronald Koeman is hopeful that his side can finish above both Arsenal and Manchester United in the Premier League this season.

The Toffees are level on points with Arsenal and three adrift of Manchester United but have played two games more than both teams.

Everton face West Ham United away on Saturday afternoon, with Koeman looking for his team to boost their chances of finishing higher up the table.

As reported by the Guardian, Koeman said: “It’s okay if people talk about Arsenal and Man United – the name is a bigger one but not how they play.

"It’s incredible that we have the same points now as Arsenal but that’s football. It’s not about money. It’s about players, the team, organisation, about spirit, about belief.

"It is possible and that gives confidence to all the rest of the teams that you can give competition. They have one or two more games to play than us but they have difficult fixtures.

"Man United are still in the Europa League and this weekend Arsenal have the semi-final of the FA Cup. We know they are not teams like Tottenham and Chelsea who don’t lose any games. No, they are different.”

Everton’s hopes of securing a top-five finish are certainly boosted by the fact that they can call upon the Premier League’s leading goalscorer in Romelu Lukaku, who has found the net on 24 occasions this season.

It remains to be seen whether Everton will be able to keep hold of Lukaku and Ross Barkley this summer, with both players likely to be the subject of a considerable amount of interest from other clubs, but the pair will be determined to help Koeman’s team conclude the campaign strongly.