LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 12:  Thomas Vermaelen of Arsenal celebrates scoring their second goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Newcastle United at Emirates Stadium on March 12, 2012 in London, England.  (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Thomas Vermaelen celebrates scoring Arsenal's winner against Newcastle United.

Arsene Wenger's tribute to Theo Walcott after Arsenal victory



Arsene Wenger believes Theo Walcott is emerging as a key figure in Arsenal's fight to finish third in the Premier League.

The England winger provided vital assists for both his team's goals in their 2-1 victory over Newcastle United that moved Wenger's side to within one point of third-placed Tottenham.

Robin van Persie struck the first in the 14th minute from Walcott's cross to claim his 33rd goal of the season to cancel out Hatem Ben Arfa's goal a minute earlier for Newcastle.

Thomas Vermaelen then swept in the stoppage time winner for Wenger's men from Walcott's centre for their fifth successive win

Van Persie has been the dominant figure throughout the Gunners' campaign thanks to his goalscoring exploits, Wenger insists Walcott is playing an equally important role.

The Arsenal manager said: "I think people forget about Theo because he is so long in the spotlight that people forget he is 23 years old and he is now getting to an age where you perform.

"It's as simple as that. He develops well because he is intelligent and I feel tactically and technically tonight he played a complete game."

Of the victory, Arsenal's second to be won by a goal in the 90th minute in the space of nine days, Wenger added: "I believe it shows we have quality, we have spirit which I never questioned.

"We had relentless effort from the first to the last minute. The tempo was absolutely top level and kept going until the last second of the game. And certainly the fact we have done that before helped.

"We just kept going and you feel that in the team we have that complete and total commitment to do whatever we can.

"We played recently against Tottenham, Liverpool, Newcastle, and at Sunderland who are difficult to beat.

"It was tight every time, we won in the last minute at Sunderland, at Liverpool and against Newcastle. What is at stake is complete commitment from every single game and see where we finish."

Van Persie kick-started the recovery after Hatem Ben Arfa had put Newcastle ahead in the 14th minute and was involved in an ongoing argument with visiting keeper Tim Krul that threatened to spill over after the final whistle.

The manager said: "I don't know if it is history from Holland or today's story? I haven't spoken to him yet but I am happy he stayed yellow and didn't turn red.

"He is absolutely committed. He gave absolutely everything tonight and got us an equaliser."

Newcastle have now gone four games without a win and manager Alan Pardew admitted the defeat had ended their hopes of forcing their way into the top four.

Pardew's side lie sixth and are now targeting a Europa League spot.

And the manager said: "You couldn't fault the commitment but we must not let the disappointment of that last minute goal get to us because we have a lot to play for still.

"I'd billed this game for the Champions League we needed to win it, a draw was no good for us, we aren't going to get there, we could make the Europa League and we have to try and win on Saturday and keep our noses in front in that position."

Pardew admitted his side had run out of steam in the final minutes and blamed the winning goal on an injury to right back Danny Simpson.

He said: "Obviously we are very disappointed because we had the ball in their corner in the 94th minute I think it was.

"We had a few problems towards the end of the game. We lost Cheick Tiote to cramp, Danny Simpson had an injury but we had no subs left and we were struggling. And in the end Danny's recovery just couldn't get him back and we conceded the goal."

Schedule

November 13-14: Abu Dhabi World Youth Jiu-Jitsu Championship
November 15-16: Abu Dhabi World Masters Jiu-Jitsu Championship
November 17-19: Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship followed by the Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Awards

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Xpanceo

Started: 2018

Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov

Based: Dubai, UAE

Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality

Funding: $40 million

Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)

Dengue fever symptoms

High fever (40°C/104°F)
Severe headache
Pain behind the eyes
Muscle and joint pains
Nausea
Vomiting
Swollen glands
Rash

Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier

UAE results
Ireland beat UAE by six wickets
Zimbabwe beat UAE by eight wickets
UAE beat Netherlands by 10 wickets

Fixtures
UAE v Vanuatu, Thursday, 3pm, Zayed Cricket Stadium
Ireland v Netherlands, 7.30pm, Zayed Cricket Stadium

Group B table
1) Ireland 3 3 0 6 +2.407
2. Netherlands 3 2 1 4 +1.117
3) UAE 3 1 2 2 0.000
4) Zimbabwe 4 1 3 2 -0.844
5) Vanuatu 3 1 2 2 -2.180

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside

ROUTE TO TITLE

Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2

No_One Ever Really Dies

N*E*R*D

(I Am Other/Columbia)

Pad Man

Dir: R Balki

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte

Three-and-a-half stars

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.”

Biography

Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad

Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym

Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army

Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter

Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness'

Director: Sam Raimi

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams

Rating: 3/5

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: N2 Technology

Founded: 2018

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Startups

Size: 14

Funding: $1.7m from HNIs

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
When is VAR used?

Goals

Penalty decisions

Direct red-card incidents

Mistaken identity

In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
  • Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000 
  • Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000 
  • HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000 
  • Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000 
  • Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000 
  • Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000 
  • Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000 
  • Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
  • Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
  • Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
The Sandman

Creators: Neil Gaiman, David Goyer, Allan Heinberg

Stars: Tom Sturridge, Boyd Holbrook, Jenna Coleman and Gwendoline Christie

Rating: 4/5


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