LONDON // Arsene Wenger has said his Arsenal side have made progress this season despite once again facing a battle to hold on to a top four spot.
Wenger’s side travel to Hull on Sunday in the fourth and final Uefa Champions League place, a point clear of Everton who handed the Gunners an advantage by unexpectedly losing at home to Crystal Palace in midweek.
With four Premier League games remaining, Arsenal – who last season secured fourth spot on the final day of the campaign – are narrow favourites to fend off the challenge of Roberto Martinez’s side.
But anything less than victory in a dress rehearsal of next month’s FA Cup final at the KC Stadium will open the door for Everton to regain the initiative.
Having dropped out of contention for the title after leading the table for long periods, Wenger's side has again been accused of failing to make progress, although back-to-back victories against Wigan Athletic in last weekend's FA Cup semi-final and in midweek against West Ham in the league have silenced some of the criticism.
“I think we have moved forward a lot, considering what happened to us with a number of injuries we had in a crucial period of the season,” said Wenger, now the Premier League’s longest-serving manager.
“We were 17 or 18 times top of the league, that did not happen last year, we are in the FA Cup final, we went out only against Bayern Munich in the Champions League with 10 men and we had come out of a very difficult Champions League group,” added the 64-year-old Frenchman, who joined north London side Arsenal in 1996.
“I believe that we have shown some real potential and promise for the future.
“What you want from your team is to feel that the team has given as much as they could. After that, you leave the judgement to other people.
“We want to come out of the season and think we have given absolutely everything, and I must say this team has been absolutely focused since the start of the season.
“We had our downs, and big downs for some periods, but the behaviour was always focused.”
Meanwhile Hull manager Steve Bruce believes Arsenal are primed to compete with the big spenders of English football again.
The Gunners have gone nine years without a trophy since lifting the FA Cup in 2005, having adopted a relatively conservative approach in the transfer market in recent seasons.
Bruce though believes the addition of club-record signing Mesut Ozil in September signalled Arsenal’s willingness to compete on the spending the front, along with the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea.
“It was great to see them signing someone like Ozil,” Bruce said.
“Looking from afar, it seems they spent eight or nine years funding the Emirates Stadium and were not able to compete at the top level in the transfer market.
“But paying all that money for Ozil [£42.4 million or Dh261.5m] was a statement that they are now ready to challenge the biggest clubs in Europe for any outstanding talent that becomes available.
“It sends out a real message, because he is a terrific player, a real danger to any team he comes up against,” the former Manchester United captain added.
“Arsene hasn’t spent on anything like the same scale as some of the big clubs, yet Arsenal are always competing in semi-finals and even finals in the Champions League, as well as for honours on the domestic front.
“How people can question him, when you look at his record, baffles me.”
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Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
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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.”
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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Disturbing%20facts%20and%20figures
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E51%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20of%20parents%20in%20the%20UAE%20feel%20like%20they%20are%20failing%20within%20the%20first%20year%20of%20parenthood%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E57%25%20vs%2043%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20is%20the%20number%20of%20mothers%20versus%20the%20number%20of%20fathers%20who%20feel%20they%E2%80%99re%20failing%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E28%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20of%20parents%20believe%20social%20media%20adds%20to%20the%20pressure%20they%20feel%20to%20be%20perfect%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E55%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20of%20parents%20cannot%20relate%20to%20parenting%20images%20on%20social%20media%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E67%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20of%20parents%20wish%20there%20were%20more%20honest%20representations%20of%20parenting%20on%20social%20media%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E53%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20of%20parents%20admit%20they%20put%20on%20a%20brave%20face%20rather%20than%20being%20honest%20due%20to%20fear%20of%20judgment%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cspan%20style%3D%22font-size%3A%2014px%3B%22%3ESource%3A%20YouGov%3C%2Fspan%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
Company profile
Name: Oulo.com
Founder: Kamal Nazha
Based: Dubai
Founded: 2020
Number of employees: 5
Sector: Technology
Funding: $450,000
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