Arsene Wenger feels Alexis Sanchez has both the work-rate and the enthusiastic personality to help fire Arsenal to a successful campaign – just like former club favourite Ian Wright.
Sanchez has been forced to sit out the last two matches because of a hamstring strain and Wenger admitted the industry of the Chile forward was clearly missed as his side went down 2-1 in Saturday’s North London derby at Tottenham Hotspur.
The 26-year-old, who has plundered 18 goals since a £32 million (Dh178.9m) summer move from Barcelona, is expected to be back in the side for Tuesday night's visit of Premier League strugglers Leicester City.
Arsenal manager Wenger revealed Sanchez has been just as big an influence in the dressing room as on the pitch.
“He is more with the Spanish players of course, but he is loved by everybody. He is very friendly and bubbly every day,” said Wenger.
“He is a bit like Ian Wright, with his enthusiasm.
“Alexis is quieter than Ian Wright – but that is not difficult and he doesn’t get booked.”
Wenger continued: “He is dynamic and he does both parts of the game, he wins you the ball back quickly as well, so the transitions are very good from defence to attack and attack to defence.
“He is important in the team because of that.”
Wenger revealed Sanchez was desperate to play through the pain barrier, but insisted there must always be a long-term view weighed up against any potential short-term gain.
“For us it is important that he has no setback as once you go into February, if you have a muscular injury and a guy has a set back, you say ‘bye bye’ as the season is over as it is six weeks out,” said Wenger.
“By the time you come back to your full level it is April and that is why we didn’t take the gamble.”
Wenger is confident Arsenal can quickly get the poor display at Tottenham out of their system, having gone into the match on the back of five straight victories.
Indeed the club could once again leapfrog local rivals Spurs – who travel to Liverpool – and end up in third come full-time on Tuesday night.
“We scored an early goal and subconsciously we accepted we had to defend – that is not our game,” he said.
“We all want to try to have the ball.”
Wenger, meanwhile, has also called for clarity on Uefa’s Financial Fair Play regulations.
“We are a popular sport, so you want clear and simple rules for everybody to understand,” said the 65-year-old, who has an economics degree from Strasbourg University.
“Is it just your income created by the gates? Is it the gates and commercial?
“Is it only the gates and the television? Is it naming rights as well?
“If I ask 10 people in the street today and then if you ask me, and I am in the job, I don’t have a clear idea any more of what it means.”
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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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