Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has played down rumours of a rift between William Saliba and Gabriel after the defenders were involved in a heated argument during the win at Leicester City on Saturday.
The Gunners' narrow 1-0 victory at the King Power Stadium, courtesy of Gabriel Martinelli's second-half strike, meant Arsenal maintained their two-point advantage over Manchester City at the weekend – that will increase to five points if they win their game in hand against Everton on Wednesday.
But their appeared to be flashpoint when Saliba and Gabriel seemed to be engaged in an angry exchange at the end of the game that reportedly resulted in the Frenchman shoving his Brazilian teammate away.
And while Arteta did not go into any detail about what the spat was over, he did insist there were no problems between the pair. “I don’t want robots,” said the Spanish coach ahead of their game at the Emirates Stadium.
“I want players with feeling, with passion that makes demands of each other but at the end they have that chemistry.
“Those two certainly have that chemistry on and off the field and I love that, even when winning, they want to do better.
“They are a happy marriage! They love playing with each other, but they are really demanding with each other – which is good. Everything is fine.”
Arteta believes that their squad depth will be crucial in the coming busy weeks ahead as they look to hold on to their advantage over City and also kick-off their Europa League knockout campaign against Sporting Lisbon in the last 16.
“The fact we have options right now, that we have players coming back from injury is going to be crucial because players cannot maintain the same level for 10 months, it is just impossible,” Arteta added. “We need to change and be more unpredictable and we have those options now.”
Everton manager Sean Dyche, meanwhile, said his team need to show a “strong jaw” away from home if they are to succeed in their bid to avoid relegation.
Everton 1 Arsenal 0: Player ratings
The Merseyside club fell back into the bottom three after a 2-0 home defeat by Aston Villa at the weekend and they face leaders Arsenal away on Wednesday.
Dyche's first game in charge of the club after replacing Frank Lampard was a surprise 1-0 win over Arsenal at Goodison Park earlier this month thanks to a James Tarkowski goal.
But Everton have not won on the road in the league since October 1 and Dyche knows that relying on their home form alone will be a risky strategy for survival.
“Most teams have stronger home forms for all kinds of scientific reasons but it's about the consistency of performances home and away,” said the former Burnley manager.
“We want our players to have a strong jaw and an edge to their play away from home.”
Dyche's biggest puzzle will be trying to coax more goals out of a team that has managed only 17 all season in the league – the worst return in the top flight.
Their leading scorer in the league this season is Demarai Gray with three, while Anthony Gordon also scored three before being sold to Newcastle United in January. Main striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin remains injured.
“That's the challenge,” Dyche said. “The players know we have not been scoring freely but we have got to adapt and ask questions of the opposition.
“We have shown good signs through the way the team is trying to create the energy, the desire and the numbers getting into the box. It has to lead to something.”
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
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Slow loris biog
From: Lonely Loris is a Sunda slow loris, one of nine species of the animal native to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore
Status: Critically endangered, and listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list due to growing demand in the global exotic pet trade. It is one of the most popular primate species found at Indonesian pet markets
Likes: Sleeping, which they do for up to 18 hours a day. When they are awake, they like to eat fruit, insects, small birds and reptiles and some types of vegetation
Dislikes: Sunlight. Being a nocturnal animal, the slow loris wakes around sunset and is active throughout the night
Superpowers: His dangerous elbows. The slow loris’s doe eyes may make it look cute, but it is also deadly. The only known venomous primate, it hisses and clasps its paws and can produce a venom from its elbow that can cause anaphylactic shock and even death in humans
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
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MATCH INFO
West Ham United 2 (Antonio 73', Ogbonna 90 5')
Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 36', Moura 42', Kane 49')
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
