Arsene Wenger remains confident Arsenal can shake off their inconsistent form and mount a serious challenge for the Premier League title.
Arsenal will attempt to bounce back from last weekend’s surprise loss at West Bromwich Albion when they travel to Norwich City on Sunday, five days after keeping alive their hopes of reaching the Uefa Champions League knockout stages with vital victory over Dinamo Zagreb.
With their European campaign on the back-burner for two weeks, fourth-placed Arsenal can focus on catching unexpected top-tier leaders Leicester City.
With no one team dominating the title race so far, Wenger has said side are still well placed in their bid to be crowned English champions for the first time since 2004.
“It is so tight and I don’t even look at the league anymore because it is very, very tight,” Wenger said.
“Last week we had a bad result against West Brom and so did Manchester City (against Liverpool) so it compacted the whole table.
“I believe it is a big opportunity for us but many teams can tell you that. We are in a position where you want to be after 13 games but there are 25 to go.
“If there are five or six to go and we are in the race, of course we are contenders. I think we have a chance but it is very early.
“I know people always want to know what will happen in the future but let’s take care of the game on Sunday.”
[Predictions: Arsenal bounce back with win at Norwich; Spurs inflict more misery on Chelsea]
Arsenal’s frustration at losing to West Brom was compounded by the fact they took the lead through Olivier Giroud, but Wenger insists this was not an indication his side remain vulnerable.
“You want to eradicate games like that,” he said. “For us, it was a bad result.
“But in the last 38 games when we scored first, and we were 1-0 up, we won 37 times. in the last 25 games before West Brom, when we scored first we won 25 times. You have to consider that mathematically as an accident.
“I believe that we gave everything and that can happen. Football is as well fantastic because it’s not always predictable.”
Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin will again be missing after being ruled out for three months with knee ligament damage, while Mikel Arteta and Theo Walcott are also sidelined.
Aaron Ramsey is in line to make his first start since suffering a hamstring problem in late October and Mathieu Flamini is expected to make only his second Premier League start of the season.
Alex Neil’s Norwich side suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat at Chelsea last time out that left them in 16th place, three points above the relegation places.
[Alexis Sanchez 'like a lion, a kind of killer' boasts Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger]
But goalkeeper John Ruddy believes there have been enough positives in the club’s recent performances to strengthen confidence ahead of the visit of Arsenal.
“Our performances at Manchester City and Chelsea showed we can frustrate good teams. Coming away from those games disappointed with narrow defeats is a good sign for us,” he said.
“It’s now about finding the balance between being defensively solid and still causing problems for teams.
“There are a lot of points on offer at this stage of the season, and we want to pick up as many as possible.
“That starts on Sunday for us. If the crowd are behind us and we play to our capabilities then I don’t see why we can’t get a result.”
Ruddy, 29, will make his 200th appearance for the club but admits his displays have been below par this season.
“Personally, I don’t think I’ve been as good this season as I have in previous years,” he said.
“That’s football, but form is temporary. I’m confident in my own ability as a goalkeeper because I’ve played at the highest level.”
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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.”
The specs
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
