Before there was a 'Big Six' in the Premier League there was a 'Big Four' – and they made David Moyes' life a misery.
Traditionally, the wealthiest and often the most successful clubs of the Premier League era have been Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, with Manchester City latterly joining the gang, and somewhat tenuously, Tottenham Hotspur.
Moyes, save for his nightmare nine months at Old Trafford in 2013-14, has always found himself on the outside looking in, first at Everton and these days at West Ham. In his time at Goodison Park, he equated competing with the super clubs of English football as like "bringing a knife to a gun fight".
Yet, on Thursday night, his Hammers side were able to cut Arsenal down to size with a memorable 2-0 win thanks to goals from Tomas Soucek and Konstantinos Mavropanos. For Moyes, though, it was much more than that.
It's probably not a stat he will be especially proud of, but it was the first time in his long managerial career that he has won an away match at the home of one of the traditional 'Big Four' – a run stretching back more than 20 years and some 72 games.
His record in these games now reads: Played 73, Lost 51, Drawn 21, Won 1; (seventy) third time's a charm...
"What about 2023 for us as a club? It’s been fantastic," Moyes said afterwards, referring to their success in the Europa Conference League in June. "And thankfully we’ve finished it off in great fashion today."
The victory would have been even sweeter for Moyes – his second over Arsenal in quick succession following a League Cup win at the London Stadium last month – given it came against his former charge Mikel Arteta. The two were close during their spell together as manager and player at Everton, and the Arsenal boss has in the past credited Moyes with teaching him how to build a culture within a dressing room.
Yet with Arteta an emerging force in management, and Moyes seemingly fighting an endless battle with a section of the West Ham support who yearn for a more glamorous figurehead, he will have taken extra pleasure from this result.
“We’ve lost a couple of games conceding five in recent weeks, which I’ve hated. I try not to get my teams to do that, but tonight we’ve defended really well," Moyes added.
“We had two different centre-halves tonight, we lost [Lucas] Paqueta [during the first half], after he picked up an injury in the warm-up.
“So there were lots of things going against us, but I have to say it was a brilliant resolute performance. They did everything together, they worked so hard together and we could have even got another right at the end there from the penalty."
The win over Arsenal also came on the fourth anniversary of Moyes' return to West Ham in 2019. In that time he initially kept them up, then finished sixth and seventh, with a Europa League semi-final followed by the Conference League triumph, West Ham's first major trophy in 43 years. After picking up three points at the Emirates, they finish 2023 sixth in the table and safely through to the last 16 of this season's Europa League.
A welcome boost for Moyes given his contract is up at the end of the season.
"We are getting ready to talk. I don't think any of us are jumping to get it done too quickly," Moyes told Amazon Prime. "We will get it done, I don't see many problems about it."
He added in his post-match press conference: "We originally came to make sure West Ham didn't get relegated, but we've grown and got better.
"We're fine. I get on well with the board. They're thrilled. They're delighted the team are going strong in the Premier League and in Europe."
Arsenal 0-2 West Ham - player ratings
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Black Panther
Dir: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o
Five stars
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.
Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
“It's maddening,” said one such worker at Nissan's stand.
The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
“It looks like there are a few less cars this year,” one annual attendee said of this year's exhibitors.
“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
Based: Bahrain
Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Personalities on the Plate: The Lives and Minds of Animals We Eat
Barbara J King, University of Chicago Press