Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admitted his team must regain their sharpness ahead of next week’s Uefa Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain after a frustrating 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday effectively ended their faint Premier League title hopes.
Second-placed Arsenal are now 12 points behind leaders Liverpool with only four matches remaining, and Arne Slot’s side can secure the title on Sunday if they avoid defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur.
While the Gunners’ domestic challenge has been waning for weeks, Arteta had hoped for a convincing display to build momentum ahead of Arsenal’s first Champions League semi-final appearance in 15 years. Instead, his side delivered an error-strewn performance that saw them twice surrender a lead to a spirited Palace outfit.
“We are disappointed with the result and performance,” Arteta said. “We didn’t find enough consistency in actions to dominate the game. In many aspects we should have done better. Palace were very organised and deserved credit but we dropped our standards.”
Jakub Kiwior opened the scoring for Arsenal with a close-range header in the third minute, but Eberechi Eze equalised for Palace with a crisp volley just before the half-hour mark. Leandro Trossard restored Arsenal’s lead shortly before the break, only for substitute Jean-Philippe Mateta to lob an out-of-position David Raya in the 83rd minute to earn Palace a point.
Arteta was critical of his team’s inability to maintain control of the match, citing a lack of urgency and precision.
“We gave the ball away in simple ways and we were late in everything we did,” he said. “We have to do much better.”
The performance raised concerns ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash with PSG, who have already knocked out Liverpool and Aston Villa in their run to the last four. Arsenal are aiming to win the competition for the first time in club history, with Arteta describing the semi-final as the “most important game of the season”.
Adding to Arsenal’s worries is an injury to Mikel Merino, who missed the Palace game and remains a doubt for the PSG fixture. The Spanish midfielder has recently played in an advanced role due to injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz.
“We will have to wait and see as they were not able to be in the squad here,” Arteta said when asked about the availability of Merino and defender Ben White.
The draw was Arsenal’s ninth in a match they were leading this season – the most by a Premier League side since Tottenham in 2007/08 – and their 13th overall. That pattern of relinquishing control has been costly, allowing Liverpool to edge closer to a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title.
Despite the setback, Arteta insisted the squad’s focus remains intact and believes the six-day break before hosting PSG will prove valuable.
“We have spoken about avoiding our focus being elsewhere. We have enough time to prepare for PSG, but today we didn’t deliver enough to win the game,” he said. “It is nice to have a long gap. We need it and we need players back to full strength. We have so many players out and not available, and therefore you drop certain standards.”
Crystal Palace, who face Aston Villa in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final, opted to rest several key players but produced a spirited display in north London.
“It was not our goal to decide the title, it was our goal to win the game,” said manager Oliver Glasner. “A draw is a very good result. More important is the performance. We are back on the track.”
The 15 players selected
Muzzamil Afridi, Rahman Gul, Rizwan Haider (Dezo Devils); Shahbaz Ahmed, Suneth Sampath (Glory Gladiators); Waqas Gohar, Jamshaid Butt, Shadab Ahamed (Ganga Fighters); Ali Abid, Ayaz Butt, Ghulam Farid, JD Mahesh Kumara (Hiranni Heros); Inam Faried, Mausif Khan, Ashok Kumar (Texas Titans
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
Allardyce's management career
Clubs (10) - Limerick (1991-1992), Perston North End (1992), Blackpool (1994-1996), Notts County (1997-1999), Bolton Wanderers (1999-2007), Newcastle United (2007-2008), Blackburn Rovers (2008-2010), West Ham United (2011-2015), Sunderland (2016), Crystal Palace (2016-2017)
Countries (1) - England (2016)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
ANATOMY%20OF%20A%20FALL
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJustine%20Triet%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESandra%20Huller%2C%20Swann%20Arlaud%2C%20Milo%20Machado-Graner%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Top tips to avoid cyber fraud
Microsoft’s ‘hacker-in-chief’ David Weston, creator of the tech company’s Windows Red Team, advises simple steps to help people avoid falling victim to cyber fraud:
1. Always get the latest operating system on your smartphone or desktop, as it will have the latest innovations. An outdated OS can erode away all investments made in securing your device or system.
2. After installing the latest OS version, keep it patched; this means repairing system vulnerabilities which are discovered after the infrastructure components are released in the market. The vast majority of attacks are based on out of date components – there are missing patches.
3. Multi-factor authentication is required. Move away from passwords as fast as possible, particularly for anything financial. Cybercriminals are targeting money through compromising the users’ identity – his username and password. So, get on the next level of security using fingertips or facial recognition.
4. Move your personal as well as professional data to the cloud, which has advanced threat detection mechanisms and analytics to spot any attempt. Even if you are hit by some ransomware, the chances of restoring the stolen data are higher because everything is backed up.
5. Make the right hardware selection and always refresh it. We are in a time where a number of security improvement processes are reliant on new processors and chip sets that come with embedded security features. Buy a new personal computer with a trusted computing module that has fingerprint or biometric cameras as additional measures of protection.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world
New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.
The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.
Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.
“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.
"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
