Under normal circumstances away fans would be content with coming away from the Emirates Stadium with a point, but this weekend Liverpool will be desperate for all three.
Brendan Rodgers’ side are five points behind fourth-placed Manchester United and a further point behind this weekend’s hosts, Arsenal. The ramifications of defeat here are severe: it would put a huge dent in Liverpool’s hopes of securing Uefa Champions League football next season - they could conceivably be eight points adrift of United should they lose and United beat struggling Aston Villa at Old Trafford later that same afternoon.
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United may have a tougher run-in than their rivals for fourth place, with games against all three clubs situated above them in the league table still to come - by comparison Liverpool’s solitary trip to Chelsea in May completes their commitments against top-half opposition following this weekend - but Liverpool would surely prefer not to be playing catch-up at this late stage.
The question hanging over Brendan Rodgers and his side is how they will respond to having lost their unbeaten run against United. Against Arsenal they face a team who have arguably replaced them as the division’s most in-form team, with Arsene Wenger’s side stringing together six consecutive Premier League victories (more than anyone else).
Further concern for Liverpool will be the Gunners’ recent purple patch in front of goal: it has been 10 matches since they last failed to score, and in all but one of those encounters they scored more than once, averaging 2.4 goals per game in this spell overall.
Arsenal’s grip on Champions League football looks to be firmly in their own hands with a seven point cushion separating them and this weekend’s visitors, but with just two points separating second-placed Manchester City from fourth-placed Manchester United, Wenger will be wary of slipping into fourth and needing to qualify for next season’s Champions League group stage.
The good news for the Arsenal manager is that his side appear to have the tools required to unlock Liverpool’s improved defence. The Gunners have been lethal at close range this season, converting 48.1 per cent of their efforts inside the six yard box - which only Chelsea have bettered - while Liverpool, who will be without Martin Skrtel and Steven Gerrard through suspension this weekend, have struggled to keep opponents out at close range.
Only lowly Aston Villa have conceded a greater share of the efforts they have faced from inside their six-yard box than 47.1 per cent allowed through by Liverpool’s defence. If Wenger has done his homework, expect to see Olivier Giroud making room for himself in the danger zone and exploiting the Reds’ failure to clear their lines.
The Gunners also look well primed to make an impression early on, having conceded just once in the opening quarter of an hour this season and with just 8.8 per cent of the total shots they face arriving during this initial period - both fewer than any other team in the division. This is in stark contrast to Liverpool, who concede a greater share of shots and goals during the first 15 minutes than all but five other Premier League clubs.
With injuries and suspensions limiting Brendan Rodgers’ ability to field a full strength team, this could be his biggest test of the season. If Liverpool are to retain any realistic hopes of Champions League football next season, their fans will hope it is one he manages to pass.
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Schedule:
Friday, January 12: Six fourball matches
Saturday, January 13: Six foursome (alternate shot) matches
Sunday, January 14: 12 singles
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
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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Six tips to secure your smart home
Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.
Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.
Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.
Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.
Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.
Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
