LONDON // The Champions League resumes this week at the last-16 stage, with Arsenal and Barcelona ready to put on a show for the football purists and AC Milan in impressive shape ahead of the visit of injury-hit Tottenham.
Arsenal's Emirates Stadium will play host to arguably the two most easy-on-the-eye teams in European football, in a rematch of last season's quarter-final that Barcelona won 6-3 on aggregate.
The Spanish giants, who have won the competition three times, are among the favorites to land the trophy again and will look to Lionel Messi, the team's leading scorer domestically and in Europe, to spark their potent attack on Wednesday.
"We play certainly the best team in the world next so it is important to go in strong psychologically," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said after a 2-0 win over Wolverhampton on Saturday that kept his team second in the Premier League behind Manchester United.
Tottenham is set to be without star winger Gareth Bale and playmaker Rafael van der Vaart on Tuesday when it returns to the San Siro, where the London side has already visited in this season's competition.
On that occasion, Spurs lost 4-3 to Inter Milan in a group match despite a stunning second-half hat trick by Bale, who has been sidelined recently with a back injury.
Milan, a seven-time European champion, consolidated its lead in the Italian league with a 4-0 thrashing of Parma at the weekend and is unbeaten in 10 games in all competitions.
"We will need courage, concentration and quality to get through," veteran Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf said. "This result (against Parma) means we are well prepared."
Valencia hosts Schalke and Shakhtar Donetsk visits Roma in this week's other first legs, with the other four two-legged series starting next week.
Arsenal was taught a lesson by Barca last season. Lucky to escape with a 2-2 draw from a thrilling first leg at home, the Gunners were smashed 4-1 in the return match - with Messi scoring all four goals in a sensational individual performance.
The Argentina playmaker has already scored six times in this season's competition, as well as 24 goals in the Spanish league.
"When you play a team like Barcelona, you need all 11 to be at their best," said Wenger, whose side lost 2-1 to the Catalans in the 2006 Champions League final.
"For us it is important we play with belief. We are not favorites in this game but I think we can do it."
Barcelona comes into the game off a 1-1 draw at Sporting Gijon, a result that ended the team's record of consecutive league wins at 16.
The champions had previously outscored their opponents 60-6 through the historic run. They had also won all their away games this season.
"Now we can see the merit of 16 consecutive wins," coach Pep Guardiola said. "Now we have to recover so we can play well in London."
Guardiola should have all his regular starters available after resting Spain midfielder Sergio Busquets and France left back Eric Abidal on Saturday. The only question mark is whether captain Carles Puyol recovers from a knee injury in time.
Milan is set to be without injured midfielders Kevin-Prince Boateng, Massimo Ambrosini and Andrea Pirlo against Spurs, so Brazil center back Thiago Silva may play out of position further upfield.
"Playing Thiago Silva in central midfield on Tuesday is a real possibility," Milan coach Massimo Allegri said.
Spurs have injury problems on their own, with central midfielders Luka Modric and Tom Huddlestone expected to miss out. The probable loss of Bale and Van der Vaart (calf) would hit the side the hardest, however.
Despite the calibre of the opposition, manager Harry Redknapp has faith in his team, which topped its group ahead of Inter on its debut in the competition and is fourth in the Premier League after three victories.
"Milan are a dangerous side. They have got some real quality players. The front three - Robinho, (Alexandre) Pato, (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic - have all got goals in them. They are top-class players," Redknapp said.
"It will be a big test, but I think we have got a big chance."
Two-time runner-up Valencia, which is in the Champions League positions in the Spanish league after seven wins in its last eight matches, may be without injured forward Juanma Mata for the first leg against Schalke.
Former Real Madrid striker Raul Gonzalez makes his first return to Spain after his move to Schalke last summer. Raul scored 12 goals against Valencia at the Mestalla stadium when he was with Madrid.
Defenders Philippe Mexes and Nicolas Burdisso are likely to return to Roma's starting lineup against Ukrainian champion Shakhtar after missing a 2-0 defeat by Napoli on Saturday through suspension.
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
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PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm)
Burnley v Huddersfield Town (7pm)
Everton v Bournemouth (7pm)
Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
Stoke City v Chelsea (7pm)
Swansea City v Watford (7pm)
Leicester City v Liverpool (8.30pm)
Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United (7pm)
Monday
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (11pm)
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Changing visa rules
For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.
Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.
It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.
The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.
The first batch - 20 finalists for the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction.- were awarded in January and more are expected to follow.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
