Idrissa out to be high and mighty like N’Golo
IDRISSA GUEYE was flying as high as N’Golo Kante when they jetted into England together to seek their fortune in the Premier League almost two years ago.
Kante, though, kept his head in the clouds with a title crown at Leicester followed by another with Chelsea this season.
In stark contrast, after saying goodbye to his new pal at Birmingham Airport, Gueye suffered a disastrous year at Aston Villa as his new side crashed down into the Championship.
A seventh-place finish with Everton has lifted his spirits but the little enforcer is looking forward to raising his game next season with a top-four spot on his radar.
He is now ready for the next campaign and feels that under Goodison boss Ronald Koeman he can at last be a prize guy like his mate Kante.
Gueye, whose style of play often sees him compared to the double Player of the Year, said: “Meeting him was quite by chance. We met up at the airport because he was going to Leicester and I was going to Villa.
“We were just chatting and he’s a really nice guy. A good guy and easy to get on with.
“We were talking about things like if he had found anywhere to live in and around Leicester.
“It was just day-to-day stuff but apparently he nearly went to Marseille so I was asking him about that as well.”
That is when they went their separate ways.
Gueye, 27, is now hell-bent on making up for lost time at Everton by beating rivals Liverpool in next year’s Premier League table.
He said: “You always want to be higher than your local rival and we realise we’re behind them. It’s kind of like a separate table outside of the league.
“We know it’s important to everyone, ourselves and the fans. So we want to do our best to reverse that situation next season.
“Everyone knows that Everton are a big club – they have got a lot of history in the top flight of English football.
“It’s down to us to believe that we can achieve the top four.”
Gueye loves his new life on Merseyside and is enjoying his relationship with boss Koeman.
He said: “I would say he’s helped me a huge amount.
“He’s showed a lot of confidence in my play.”
Idrissa Gana Gueye was speaking at the launch event for Everton and Umbro’s new home kit for the 2017-18 season. The kit is available to pre-order online
at www.evertondirect.com. The Gunners host Everton today knowing that even a sixth win in seven games is unlikely to secure them a place in Europe’s most prestigious club competition. If they beat the Toffees, Wenger’s men still need either Liverpool, who are one point better off, to mess up at home to relegated Middlesbrough or Man City, three points ahead of them, to suffer a hefty defeat at Watford. But while refusing to rule out the possibility of another last- day miracle to secure a spot in the top four, Wenger is adamant that missing out will not be a catastrophe in terms of lost revenue. The French boss, 67, is still to confirm whether he is set to stay on as boss after this s eason and he said: “We want to play in t he best competition and that’s why we want to be in the Champions League.
“But t he Champions League does not have the financial weight it had before – because the Premier League television money has gone up.
“Financially, you don’t suffer anymore.
“During the period when we had to pay for the new stadium, the income of the Champions League was absolutely vital.
“But now, on the f i n a n c i a l point, we’re not in trouble.
“So, no, it will not be a disaster.”
When it comes to prestige, though, Wenger accepts it would be a blow not to be mixing it with Europe’s elite for a 21st year on the spin.
Yet at the same time he claims that one season’s absence will not do any lasting damage to their standing among the giants of European football.
“Did Chelsea play in t he Champions League this year? Did Liverpool play in it? No. Nothing,” added the Frenchman.
“If we have to cope with it sporting-wise, we have to cope.”
Not that Wenger has abandoned all hope of sneaking in through the back door. Far from it.
The odds may be stacked against his FA Cup finalists but past experiences have shown them that anything is possible on the final afternoon of a season.
Back in 2006, the Gunners looked certain to finish outside the Champions League places with one game to play.
But that was before Spurs suffered a nasty bout of food poisoning from a dodgy lasagne.
West Ham defeated them 2-1 and allowed the Gunners to nip in ahead of their bitter rivals to qualify instead.
And who could ever forget Manchester City grabbing the Premier League title at The Etihad with virtually the very last kick of the 2011-12 season?
Certainly not Wenger, who said: “City won the championship in the last minute against QPR. “Yes, strange things can happen. “In 2006, it was a bit different because we also had t he Champions League Final to play.
“We knew if we won that we’d be in the competition again. “The fear was not as much. “This time, we are less likely to be in it. “But we still have to manage the situation by focusing on winning our game rather than what ’ s happening elsewhere.”
Despite having all eyes on Everton today, Wenger is only too aware that his side’s top-four rivals could slip-up.
The Gunners were held to a goalless draw by relegated Middlesbrough in October. If Boro produce the same result today, it could open the door for Arsenal.
Wenger said: “We can reach 75 points. Will it be enough? If you had to bet, you’d say no. But you j ust never know.
“Liverpool will certainly be up for their game and they are favourites.
“But we drew 0-0 at home to Middlesbrough.
“It won’t be easy.”