Arsenal's FA Cup triumphs in 2014 and 2015 were supposed to represent the turning of a corner, successes to usher in a new era of Arsene Wenger's tenure that would see his side begin to challenge for the biggest honours on a regular basis once more.
Instead, those victories increasingly look like aberrations. Sunday's 2-1 defeat to Watford saw the FA Cup holders dumped out of the tournament at the quarter-final stage, leaving Arsenal facing the prospect of a ninth trophy-less season in the last 11 years.
Finishing many of those campaigns empty-handed was understandable, with Arsenal unable to keep pace with their heavy-spending domestic rivals between 2005 and 2012 as funds were diverted away from the playing stuff and towards the funding of the Emirates Stadium.
Given that their best players were regularly sold and replaced with relatively unproven youngsters or bargain buys from abroad, overseeing successive top-four finishes throughout that period was an excellent achievement that Wenger was perhaps not given enough credit for.
Read more: 'I find it a bit boring' as Arsene Wenger hits back at critics of his Arsenal career
Things have changed now, though, and Arsenal have gone backwards rather than forwards. This season was widely seen as one in which they should contend for the Premier League title and both domestic cups, as well as progressing beyond the last 16 of the Uefa Champions League for the first time since 2010.
Barring a miracle against Barcelona on Wednesday and an incredible turnaround in the top flight – leaders Leicester City are currently eight points ahead of Wenger’s charges – Arsenal will fall short on all four fronts.
“I don’t think we deserved to lose the game,” the Frenchman said afterwards. “We had enough technical superiority to win it. It was about not making a mistake and keeping it 0-0 until the final 20 minutes.”
Arsenal did make errors, however, with Watford causing the hosts plenty of problems on the break. Per Mertesacker and Gabriel seemed unable to contain the lively strike duo of Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo, while Etienne Capoue, Ben Watson and Valon Behrami won the physical battle in the centre of the park.
More worrying for Arsenal was the lack of cohesion and incision at the other end of the pitch. The double midfield pivot of Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny lacked creativity and invention – it is no coincidence that Arsenal’s downturn in form has coincided with Santi Cazorla’s absence through injury – and forced Mesut Ozil to drop far too deep to help build his side’s attacking moves.
Olivier Giroud was quiet up front, moreover, and Joel Campbell and Alexis Sanchez were unable to produce any sort of spark on the flanks. Watford – disciplined, organised and extremely well-coached – took full advantage, advancing to the last four of the competition for the first time in 12 years.
The situation for Arsenal looks a whole lot bleaker. Wenger has come in for some heavy criticism from the club’s fans in recent weeks, with the pressure set to be ratcheted up a notch or two further after this latest loss.
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Barcelona will surely end their participation in the Champions League with a comfortable second-leg victory at the Camp Nou this midweek, while Leicester’s clash with Newcastle United on Monday gives Claudio Ranieri’s men the chance to move 11 points clear of Arsenal at the summit of the Premier League standings.
No manager in the history of the game has more FA Cup victories to his name than Wenger, but many Arsenal supporters would have considered this term to be a disappointment had their side retained the trophy but failed to win anything else.
After another substandard performance and result at the Emirates Stadium – this was Arsenal’s third consecutive home defeat, something that has never happened before at their new home – another season without silverware looks a virtual certainty.
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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.”
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
Company profile
Company name: Dharma
Date started: 2018
Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: TravelTech
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
