Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is targeting a strong finish to the campaign to boost his club's Premier League title challenge next season.
Wenger’s side travel to face Hull City on Monday aiming to strengthen their bid to claim the runners-up spot behind champions-elect Chelsea.
Last weekend’s goalless draw against Jose Mourinho’s side at the Emirates Stadium effectively drew a line under any remaining hopes Arsenal had of catching the league leaders.
Following fourth placed Manchester United’s defeat on Saturday, Arsenal, unbeaten in their last nine league games, will take another step towards a top three finish if they win at the KC Stadium.
And having pin-pointed his side’s slow start as the reason they were unable to mount a more sustained challenge at the head of the table, Wenger is determined things will be different next time around.
“That’s our challenge, to finish well and take that strength into the next season,” Wenger said.
“The start of the season is linked with belief as well. We can just strengthen the belief by finishing well.
“Manchester City had ups and downs and started stronger than us, so they were a long time in front of us.
“Manchester United are a bit like Arsenal, they had a slow start and became stronger in the second part of the season.
“I think our slow start was down to post-World Cup problems and to the fact as well that we had to play the qualifiers for the Champions League.
“It always takes a lot out of you but overall I believe that we’ve found a better balanced team during the season as well.
“If you ask me if I am happy with the depth of the squad I say certainly yes because I have many international top quality players who are not even in the squad on Saturdays when everyone is available. That has not been the case for many years.”
Hull will welcome top-scorer Nikica Jelavic back into the squad after the Croatian forward recovered from a knee operation sooner than expected.
The 31-year-old has not featured since March 14 after undergoing surgery for the second time this season and it was feared he might miss the remainder of the campaign.
Jelavic trained this week and manager Steve Bruce expects him to be fit for Monday’s clash.
However, after Hull recorded successive wins over Crystal Palace and Liverpool, Bruce is likely to keep faith in strikers Dame N’Doye and Sone Aluko, meaning Jelavic will start the match as a substitute.
“I can’t speak highly enough of him. He has had two serious knee operations and worked hard to get back involved,” Bruce said.
“I think if he is going to be involved, it will be from the bench. How could I disappoint anyone? My job is easy this week, in that respect.”
Jelavic is Hull’s top scorer with eight goals, despite missing large sections of the campaign with injury, and Bruce believes the Tigers would not have been in relegation trouble if he had stayed fit all season.
“You are only as good as your strikers, no matter what level you are at,” said Bruce, whose side are one point above the relegation zone with four games remaining.
“We struggled without Jelavic. For me, if he had stayed fit all season then we would have been fine. Our troubles came when he got injured.
“We know how crucial it is. Look at Liverpool. Luis Suarez has gone but you look at a mighty club like them trying to replace their number one striker and it is not easy.”
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
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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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