LONDON // Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho stoked the embers of his rivalry with Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger after his side’s damaging 2-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium.
Second-half goals by Granit Xhaka and United alumnus Danny Welbeck earned Arsenal victory on Sunday as Wenger overcame Mourinho in a Premier League game for the first time in 13 attempts.
Mourinho had claimed that "peace" reigned between himself and Wenger before the game, but he questioned the Frenchman's poor record against him afterwards and accused him of putting unfair pressure on the fourth official.
__________________________________
Read more
■ Greg Lea: Arsene Wenger finally gets one over Jose Mourinho
■ Team of the week: Oxlade-Chamberlain and Welbeck in for Arsenal
__________________________________
“Arsenal fans are happy and I’m happy for them,” said Mourinho, whose side had been unbeaten in 25 league games.
“It’s the first time I leave Highbury or Emirates and they’re happy. I left Highbury, they were crying. I left the Emirates, they were crying. They were walking the streets with heads low.
“Finally today they sing, they wave their scarves. It’s nice for them.
“It’s a big club. You think I enjoy a big club like Arsenal not winning big trophies? I’m not enjoying that. But today I tried to win.
“Arsene Wenger is not a small manager. He’s a big manager. To have that record of winning so many matches and not losing is something that is not normal. Normal is win, lose, draw. It’s not normal.
“I really don’t care about it. And today, no problems. We shook hands before the game, we shook hands after the game.
“And during the game I didn’t like what I never like: he puts too much pressure on the fourth official all the time.”
In further digs, Mourinho accused Wenger – misleadingly – of playing with a “defensive block” and “a line of five defenders”.
Addressing the press before Mourinho, Wenger had played down the significance of his first league victory over the Portuguese.
“We have had many draws as well and there were some fantastic teams that we played against,” Wenger said. “It is not manager against manager.”
Wenger was also in sarcastic mood, but in his case he was talking about the penalty that Liverpool were awarded – and squandered – in their goalless draw at home to Southampton earlier on Sunday.
The day’s results enabled Arsenal to close to within seven points of third-place Liverpool, on whom they have two games in hand, beginning with Wednesday’s trip to Southampton.
“We still have a chance mathematically and we need some help as well from teams around us,” Wenger said.
“I watched the [Liverpool] game and I’ve seen the penalty given by the referee [for a handball by Jack Stephens]. It was very nice.”
United are two points above Arsenal in fifth place, having played a game more, and now trail fourth-place Manchester City by four points.
Mourinho made eight changes from Thursday’s 1-0 win over Celta Vigo in the away leg of United’s Europa League semi-final, notably awarding a full debut to 19-year-old defender Axel Tuanzebe.
The tie concludes this Thursday and with United then facing a taxing trip to second-place Tottenham Hotspur. Mourinho said his side’s chances of qualifying for the Uefa Champions League via the league were over.
“Impossible,” he said when asked about United’s hopes of finishing in the top four.
“I don’t think so, for two reasons. Because I don’t think the others, playing one match per week and being in a great situation, are going to blow it.
“And because we go with everything on Thursday and we cannot go with everything against Tottenham.
“When you go with everything against Tottenham, it’s difficult. When you don’t go with everything, it’s more difficult.
“Then two days later we play Southampton and two days later we play Crystal Palace. And this is too much for us.
“I don’t think we have any chance of finishing top four in the Premier League. We have to chase the Champions League by trying to win the Europa League.”
* Agence France-Presse
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Seven tips from Emirates NBD
1. Never respond to e-mails, calls or messages asking for account, card or internet banking details
2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet
3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details
4. Change passwords periodically as a precautionary measure
5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
How to invest in gold
Investors can tap into the gold price by purchasing physical jewellery, coins and even gold bars, but these need to be stored safely and possibly insured.
A cheaper and more straightforward way to benefit from gold price growth is to buy an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Most advisers suggest sticking to “physical” ETFs. These hold actual gold bullion, bars and coins in a vault on investors’ behalf. Others do not hold gold but use derivatives to track the price instead, adding an extra layer of risk. The two biggest physical gold ETFs are SPDR Gold Trust and iShares Gold Trust.
Another way to invest in gold’s success is to buy gold mining stocks, but Mr Gravier says this brings added risks and can be more volatile. “They have a serious downside potential should the price consolidate.”
Mr Kyprianou says gold and gold miners are two different asset classes. “One is a commodity and the other is a company stock, which means they behave differently.”
Mining companies are a business, susceptible to other market forces, such as worker availability, health and safety, strikes, debt levels, and so on. “These have nothing to do with gold at all. It means that some companies will survive, others won’t.”
By contrast, when gold is mined, it just sits in a vault. “It doesn’t even rust, which means it retains its value,” Mr Kyprianou says.
You may already have exposure to gold miners in your portfolio, say, through an international ETF or actively managed mutual fund.
You could spread this risk with an actively managed fund that invests in a spread of gold miners, with the best known being BlackRock Gold & General. It is up an incredible 55 per cent over the past year, and 240 per cent over five years. As always, past performance is no guide to the future.
What is the definition of an SME?
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
