Arsene Wenger believes Arsenal are in the “fight” for their first Premier League title since 2004 and insists the Gunners will maintain the pressure on leaders Chelsea in Tuesday’s trip to out-of-sorts Everton.
Arsenal have not lost in the Premier League since the opening day of the season, and had a short stay at the top at the weekend before Chelsea eked out a 1-0 win over West Brom to maintain their three point lead.
With a visit to bottom side Sunderland on Wednesday they should retain top spot ahead of next weekend’s games.
Wenger, though, is pleased with the way his side have progressed from last season when they finished a distant second to Leicester having never posed a significant challenge.
“At the minute there is no difference anyway with the other teams,” said Wenger.
“But we are in there. So that’s good — we are in the fight.
“We were not too bad last year but I believe we have improved. I believe that we have created confidence.”
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Wenger will be without the impressive German international Skohdran Mustafi, who went off in the 3-1 win over Stoke with a hamstring injury, which will be music to the ears of Belgian international Romelu Lukaku.
He returned to form with a brace in the 3-2 defeat to Watford but Ronald Koeman’s honeymoon with the Everton fans is well and truly over after a run of just one win in 10 games.
Chelsea’s trip to Sunderland shouldn’t pose too many problems — even with rumours swirling they may be punished with a points deduction over the players role in the angry climax to the Manchester City match earlier this month — despite the Black Cats having won three of their previous five matches.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has proved the doubters wrong in sending out a far more fluent and happier side than the one that led to Jose Mourinho being sacked last season.
Diego Costa, who scored his 12th goal of the season on Sunday, is one of those who have been transformed and Conte is expecting the 28-year-old to get even better.
“I’m happy for him because he is showing great passion. In every game he is showing great commitment and work rate to help the team,” said Conte.
The two London clubs gained some breathing space at the weekend as the chasing pack all dropped points — Manchester City and Spurs both losing and Liverpool held 2-2 at home by struggling West Ham.
Spurs — who host struggling Hull on Wednesday — could at least point to a narrow 1-0 defeat by Manchester United whereas Pep Guardiola’s problems appear to be mounting with City’s 4-2 humbling by Leicester.
Guardiola, whose side have won just four times in 15 matches, didn’t offer much in the way of a solution to his players inability to tackle.
They failed to win one in the opening 35 minutes against Leicester something which the Watford forwards will be licking their lips at ahead of Wednesday’s clash.
“I am not a coach for the tackles. I don’t train for tackles. What I want is to try to play well and score goals. What are tackles?,” said Guardiola.
“I have to improve, but I want to play the football I feel because of course it is simple to say ‘concede fewer goals and score more’.”
Jose Mourinho will be hoping United’s win over Spurs will spark a sequence of wins especially as three of their next four are against teams in trouble starting away at Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
As ever, though the ‘Special One’ preferred to look at a half empty glass.
“We can (win them all), but to play at Palace, it is not an easy match,” said Mourinho.
“To play at West Brom is not an easy match and to play at home against two teams that will fight desperately for a point, Middlesbrough and Sunderland, teams that want to avoid relegation, will be difficult too.
“So four winnable matches, yes, but also matches where we can lose points.”
* Agence France-Presse
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The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
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Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday
AC Milan v Sampdoria (2.30pm kick-off UAE)
Atalanta v Udinese (5pm)
Benevento v Parma (5pm)
Cagliari v Hellas Verona (5pm)
Genoa v Fiorentina (5pm)
Lazio v Spezia (5pm)
Napoli v Crotone (5pm)
Sassuolo v Roma (5pm)
Torino v Juventus (8pm)
Bologna v Inter Milan (10.45pm)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Schedule:
Pakistan v Sri Lanka:
28 Sep-2 Oct, 1st Test, Abu Dhabi
6-10 Oct, 2nd Test (day-night), Dubai
13 Oct, 1st ODI, Dubai
16 Oct, 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi
18 Oct, 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi
20 Oct, 4th ODI, Sharjah
23 Oct, 5th ODI, Sharjah
26 Oct, 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
27 Oct, 2nd T20I, Abu Dhabi
29 Oct, 3rd T20I, Lahore
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20specs
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Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
The bio
His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell
His favourite quote - 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' by Derek Bok, Former President of Harvard
Favourite place to travel to - Peloponnese, Southern Greece
Favourite movie - The Last Emperor
Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great
Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
Match info
Arsenal 0
Manchester City 2
Sterling (14'), Bernardo Silva (64')
