Yaya Sanogo scored four times as Arsenal crushed Portuguese champions Benfica 5-1 at the Emirates Cup friendly tournament in London yesterday.
The French striker, 21, who has never scored a competitive goal for the club, claimed a first-half hat-trick and added another goal in the second half to upstage star signing Alexis Sanchez, who made his first appearance as a late substitute.
Costa Rica forward Joel Campbell, back at Arsenal after three seasons out on loan, scored the host’s other goal, with Nicolas Gaitan replying for Europa League runners-up Benfica.
The game at the Emirates Stadium followed the 2-2 draw between Valencia and Monaco in the first game of the four-team friendly competition.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger used the occasion to cast his eye over some fringe players, with new signing Calum Chambers – formerly of Southampton – starting in an unfamiliar position at centre-back alongside fellow full-back Nacho Monreal.
After a few failed attempts, the hosts clicked into gear in devastating fashion. Sanogo broke the deadlock in the 26th minute with a clever back-heeled finish from Ramsey’s right-wing cross.
The adventurous Bellerin then teed up Campbell to bludgeon home a left-foot volley in the 40th minute. Improbably, there was time for Sanogo to complete his hat-trick before the interval.
He tucked away a volleyed cross from Campbell in the 44th minute and then flicked in a centre from Kieran Gibbs at the second attempt in stoppage time.
Sanogo claimed his fourth four minutes into the second period, rolling the ball into an empty net after Benfica goalkeeper Moraes Artur had parried poorly from Aaron Ramsey.
Gaitan headed in from a long throw-in with just under half an hour remaining, but Arsenal’s fans were given further reason to cheer when Chile forward Sanchez replaced Campbell to make his debut following his switch from Barcelona.
He almost created a goal for fellow substitute Francis Coquelin in injury time, but the midfielder’s shot came back off the post.
CELTIC ROUT GIVES SPURS A LIFT WHILE MALAGA BEAT NEWCASTLE
Tottenham Hotspur thrashed Scottish champions Celtic 6-1 in yesterday’s friendly in Helsinki.
Spurs raced into a 2-0 lead thanks to efforts from frontmen Harry Kane and Roberto Soldado in the fourth and 11th minutes.
Jamie Lindsay pulled a goal back for Celtic in the 43rd, but a minute later Lewis Holtby restored the two-goal lead and Spurs kept the momentum going after the break.
Midfielder Erik Lamela – who, like Soldado, is looking to bounce back after a disappointing first season in London – made it 4-1 just before the hour mark.
A Christian Eriksen free-kick and Emmanuel Adebayor penalty wrapped up the rout in the last 10 minutes. Celtic’s misery was compounded by a red card for Efe Ambrose – his second this week, having been dismissed in Wednesday’s 4-1 Uefa Champions League qualifier defeat to Legia Warsaw.
Newcastle United conceded three goals in 18 first-half minutes in a 3-1 loss to Spanish side Malaga.
Sergi Darder opened the scoring in the 25th minute with a long-range strike, Samu Castillejo volleyed in at the far post in the 32nd minute and he then netted a deflected effort towards the end of the half, before Gabriel Obertan fired in a consolation on the hour.
Summer signing Bafetimbi Gomis was on the scoresheet for Swansea City as they beat Reading 3-1 at the Madejski Stadium.
The France striker provided a cool finish to seal the victory in the second half. Wayne Routledge had earlier scored twice in three minutes to put the Swans in charge, with the hosts replying through a Nick Blackman strike.
Crystal Palace had a 3-2 defeat at Championship newcomers Brentford. A flurry of goals early in the second half saw Jonathan Douglas and Andre Gray put the home team 2-0 up, and Palace then draw level through Glenn Murray and Marouane Chamakh. Moses Odubajo subsequently notched the winner.
Aston Villa slumped to a 4-1 defeat away against Dutch side Groningen after conceding two goals in the opening eight minutes. Both were scored by Tjaronn Chery, and Jarchinio Antonia then made it 3-0 on the half-hour.
Charles N’Zogbia responded with a free kick with 15 minutes to go, but Groningen’s Dino Islamovic added a fourth in the final seconds.
Competing in the same Schalke Cup tournament as Newcastle, West Ham United beat the hosts 7-6 on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
* Press Association
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Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
MATCH INFO
Mainz 0
RB Leipzig 5 (Werner 11', 48', 75', Poulsen 23', Sabitzer 36')
Man of the Match: Timo Werner (RB Leipzig)
THE SPECS
Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Engine: 5-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
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Price: Dh465,071
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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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.”
