Arsenal returned to winning ways with a 5-0 drubbing of London rivals Crystal Palace to climb one place to third in the Premier League on Saturday.
Centre-back Gabriel did most of the damage before half-time as he headed in the opener and then forced Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson into an own goal.
Leandro Trossard made it 3-0 on the hour mark before substitute Gabriel Martinelli struck twice in stoppage time.
Victory moved Mikel Arteta's men level with Manchester City and Aston Villa, two points behind leaders Liverpool.
It was a big turnaround for the Gunners who had won just once in seven games prior to a two-week winter break. However, a warm-weather training camp in Dubai seems to have refreshed last season's runners-up.
Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko returned and the Gunners were ahead seconds after the 10-minute mark when Gabriel leveraged the shoulders of Palace defender Chris Richards to head home Declan Rice's corner.
The Gunners doubled their advantage in the 37th minute when Gabriel nodded Bukayo Saka's corner towards Henderson's net and was initially awarded the goal, which stood after a VAR check but subsequently changed to an own goal for the Palace keeper.
The chances kept coming for Arsenal, who were denied a possible penalty after a VAR consultation, and they were soon three goals ahead after Jesus' pinpoint pass found Trossard, who weaved around Nathaniel Clyne and neatly finished to the top left.
Substitute Martinelli then fired in the hosts' fourth, then a near-identical fifth. Arsenal's victory ended a run of three successive defeats in all competitions.
"Today we were much more efficient in the opponents' box particularly than the last few games," Arteta said.
"Last few games we had moments playing better than today but this is about scoring goals. This is the second part of the season we want to tackle it with aggression and motivation."
After the win, Saka said the winter break in Dubai seems to have done its job.
"It's really important. First thing was to win today but that early goal helped. It calmed us and we could control the game more. I thought Gabriel Martinelli was going to get a hat-trick at one point," Saka told TNT Sports.
"Dubai was really nice for us to have that break. We weren't in the best form before that and it helped us refresh and work on the things we needed to."
Palace boss Roy Hodgson admitted his team lost the plot fairly early.
"The worst thing is that three of the goals all came from corner kicks, two from theirs and one from one of ours and they started a very quick counter and 3-0 down you are up against it," Hodgson was quoted as saying by the BBC.
"I decided to give some of the younger players a chance on the basis we played in midweek and some of the players had worked very hard, but 3-0 down against a rampant Arsenal it was asking for trouble and asking for the two quite simple goals at the end."
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
SQUADS
UAE
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice-captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
Nepal
Paras Khadka (captain), Gyanendra Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Pradeep Airee, Binod Bhandari, Avinash Bohara, Sundeep Jora, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Rohit Paudel, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Basant Regmi, Pawan Sarraf, Bhim Sharki, Aarif Sheikh
Also on December 7 to 9, the third edition of the Gulf Car Festival (www.gulfcarfestival.com) will take over Dubai Festival City Mall, a new venue for the event. Last year's festival brought together about 900 cars worth more than Dh300 million from across the Emirates and wider Gulf region – and that first figure is set to swell by several hundred this time around, with between 1,000 and 1,200 cars expected. The first day is themed around American muscle; the second centres on supercars, exotics, European cars and classics; and the final day will major in JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars, tuned vehicles and trucks. Individuals and car clubs can register their vehicles, although the festival isn’t all static displays, with stunt drifting, a rev battle, car pulls and a burnout competition.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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