It scarcely ranks as the wisest choice of words thus far this season. “Maybe it is more easy,” Sokratis Papastathopoulos said, considering the prospect of defending against Liverpool’s slicker, quicker forward line, rather than halting Burnley’s more abrasive attack. Another adjective he deployed – “different” – felt rather more accurate and distinctly safer.
Arsenal’s Greek centre-back can display more enthusiasm than judgement. He should have been scarred by his last trip to Anfield, a personal display of hideous haplessness that represented a nadir in his Gunners career and which ended 5-1. Arsenal return to Merseyside on Saturday, with their past offering a cautionary tale. There is nothing easy about facing Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool; especially for Arsenal.
Consider the numbers: three, four, three, four, three, one and five. They are Liverpool’s goal returns in their seven games under the German against the Gunners. Roberto Firmino alone scored eight goals in those seven matches. Arsenal had conceded four times by half time on their last visit to Anfield, making theirs the first defence breached that many times in the opening 45 minutes of a Premier League game at Liverpool’s home since, well, Arsenal themselves in 2014.
Themes have recurred with disturbing regularity: a naivety against quick, incisive counter-attackers, an inability to cope with the press, a capacity to capitulate, a struggle to win away against elite opponents, a mismatch when either ageing or inexperienced defenders were confronted with pace and directness.
If Saturday offers an early opportunity to show Arsenal have changed, the omens may be inauspicious. Three of the probable back four – Papastathopoulos, David Luiz and Nacho Monreal – are in their thirties. Ainsley Maitland-Niles is a converted midfielder. He and Monreal may drop out of the team when Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney are fit to be the first-choice full-backs. Luiz has played a solitary game in which to establish a relationship with Papastathopoulos.
There are suggestions Emery may look for a policy of safety in numbers by fielding three centre-backs and Luiz’s finest form for Chelsea came at the centre of a trio, flanked by better defenders. Yet going to three centre-backs backfired for Arsene Wenger in this fixture two years ago. Liverpool won 4-0. Arsenal were shambolic.
A familiar criticism is that they lack leadership, something that seemed compounded when Laurent Koscielny in effect abdicated as captain to pursue his exit. Arsenal’s transfer window had the feel of a failure that was transformed into a success, largely by the coup of landing Nicolas Pepe, but partly because Luiz arrived, weakening Chelsea, a potential upgrade on the older Koscielny and a net cost of just £3.4 million.
The Brazilian has been charged with adding leadership, a big personality for a big challenge. It is one his former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho suggested that might suit him. Mourinho, who sold Luiz during his second spell at Stamford Bridge, said this month: “Sometimes he makes mistakes, but he makes those mistakes when his concentration levels are low. And when you change to a new club and you have something to prove, I think it is a good move for him.”
Luiz possesses the footballing skills of a midfielder and can feel a magnetic presence. They are common denominators with Virgil van Dijk. A fundamental difference between men whose best is very good lies in consistency.
The comparisons are obvious but imperfect. But if Van Dijk was a transformative figure for Liverpool, Arsenal require Luiz to be another. The bare facts are that they have conceded 51 goals in each of the two most recent league seasons and, of the last 68 top-four finishers in England, only one was breached on a half-century of occasions: Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool, who scored a century of goals.
They were an extraordinary outlier and, while Arsenal possess a potent front three in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Pepe, received wisdom suggests even a frontloaded team needs to be more frugal to progress.
The numbers are unflattering. Ten teams, Watford and Newcastle United included, conceded fewer shots last season. Bernd Leno made the sixth most saves, even though he did not start seven league matches. The figures show a need for resolve and resilience. Arsenal’s past, their Anfield eviscerations, has contributed to a negative stereotype. In three seasons when they have finished outside the top four, they have taken four points from a possible 45 on the road against the rest of the big six. More than most, Liverpool have been their undoing. For this season to be different, they need a more solid platform. There has to be a case for the defence.
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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Florence and the Machine – High as Hope
Three stars
At a glance
- 20,000 new jobs for Emiratis over three years
- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills
- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis
- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector
- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes
- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
