Harry Kane praised Bayern Munich's "fight and grind" after the German side advanced to the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday night at the expense of the striker's old rivals Arsenal.
With the quarter-final tie poised at 2-2 following last week's first leg at London's Emirates Stadium, Bayern made home advantage count, with Joshua Kimmich powering in a 63rd-minute header to give the hosts a 1-0 win on the night and a 3-2 aggregate victory.
Germany international Kimmich timed his run into the box perfectly to connect with Raphael Guerreiro's cross and put Bayern, who had earlier hit the woodwork twice from a double chance, in the driving seat.
The Bavarians, enduring their worst domestic season in more than a decade, will next face Real Madrid in the last four while outgoing Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel became the first German coach to reach the semi-finals with three different teams.
"Unbelievable win. It's been a tough season for us and we've had to fight and grind at times," said Kane, who despite Bayern's collective struggles domestically this season has been prolific with 39 goals in all competitions, including seven in the Champions League.
"Today was just that – we knew it was going to be a tough game but also that at home we could make the difference with our fans there.
"As always in these types of games, the first half was a bit cagey. We said at half time to up the tempo and the pressing and be better with the ball. That's what we did."
Kane will next face a showdown against England teammate Jude Bellingham, who like his international captain has starred since moving abroad, first with Borussia Dortmund and now this season at Real Madrid.
"These are the experiences that I think we both moved abroad for. To try and achieve it, to play in these big nights," Kane said, adding that making it to this year's Champions League final, to be held at Wembley, was both his and Bellingham's dream.
"For both of us of course. It'll be in our national stadium so there's an extra motivation to try and go there and achieve it," he said. "But we still have two games ahead of us which are going to be really tough and we have to focus on that."
For Tuchel, continued progression in the Champions League represents the lone highlight of a difficult campaign. Bayern's Bundesliga title defence was destroyed by unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen, who clinched their first league trophy with five games to spare, while their hopes in the German Cup came to shock early end in the second round by third-tier Saarbrucken.
Bayern's domestic struggles led the club and manager to decide to part ways at the end of the season, but Tuchel is proving to be something of a Champions League specialist; the German led Paris Saint-Germain to the 2020 final – losing, incidentally, to Bayern – before guiding Chelsea to the title in 2021.
"The semi-final is a huge step. The last four, that was fun. Great joy and great relief," Tuchel said. "These are special moments. We beat one of the top Premier League clubs. We will have to see what this win does to the club. The season is not yet over. Especially not now."
The defeat was Arsenal's second in three days having seen their Premier League title bid hit by a 2-0 home loss to Aston Villa. However, manager Mikel Arteta has urged his players to use the pain of their Champions League exit to fuel their chase for a first league title in 20 years.
"What we have to play for [in the Premier League] is still beautiful. We have six games to go and we are two points behind [Manchester] City," he said.
"It's a very difficult schedule for everybody. We have to go through the pain tonight, and tomorrow get up and come with the same attitude that we came with here. I can guarantee you by tomorrow we're fully focused on Wolves and everybody is lifted."
Arteta conceded a lack of experience in the latter stages of the competition proved a key factor against Bayern, six-time European champions who are perennial contenders for the trophy.
"We haven't been in this position for 14 years, we haven't played in the Champions League for seven years. There's a reason for that. Today's match will make us better," he said.
"I think we have the capacity and the quality to be in the semi-final. When you look historically, it took other clubs seven, eight or 10 years to do it in the Champions League.
"It's easy to praise the players and talk nice things when we win 10 in a row and one draw [in the Premier League]. The moment is now to be behind them and be next to them."
Scoreline
Bournemouth 2
Wilson 70', Ibe 74'
Arsenal 1
Bellerin 52'
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
UAE%20v%20West%20Indies
%3Cp%3EFirst%20ODI%20-%20Sunday%2C%20June%204%20%0D%3Cbr%3ESecond%20ODI%20-%20Tuesday%2C%20June%206%20%0D%3Cbr%3EThird%20ODI%20-%20Friday%2C%20June%209%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EMatches%20at%20Sharjah%20Cricket%20Stadium.%20All%20games%20start%20at%204.30pm%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20squad%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EMuhammad%20Waseem%20(captain)%2C%20Aayan%20Khan%2C%20Adithya%20Shetty%2C%20Ali%20Naseer%2C%20Ansh%20Tandon%2C%20Aryansh%20Sharma%2C%20Asif%20Khan%2C%20Basil%20Hameed%2C%20Ethan%20D%E2%80%99Souza%2C%20Fahad%20Nawaz%2C%20Jonathan%20Figy%2C%20Junaid%20Siddique%2C%20Karthik%20Meiyappan%2C%20Lovepreet%20Singh%2C%20Matiullah%2C%20Mohammed%20Faraazuddin%2C%20Muhammad%20Jawadullah%2C%20Rameez%20Shahzad%2C%20Rohan%20Mustafa%2C%20Sanchit%20Sharma%2C%20Vriitya%20Aravind%2C%20Zahoor%20Khan%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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.”
