Sport360’s Matt Monaghan reflects on the latest round of Arabian Gulf League matches and offers his picks of week three.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mohamed Al Akbari (Al Wahda)
The 20-year-old showed why he is the UAE’s brightest prospect as Al Wahda got their first win of 2016/17. He assisted both Sebastian Tagliabue’s goals, before calmly rocketing in the third.
GOAL OF THE WEEK
Tomas De Vincenti (Al Shabab)
Forward Henrique Luvannor’s blistering turn of pace was exceptional. But the best was to come when the Argentine playmaker ingeniously swivelled on his low cross, dumbfounding the Bani Yas defence before firing in.
COACH OF THE WEEK
Gjoko Hadzievski (Hatta)
The Macedonian enjoyed an AGL debut to savour in the clash of the promoted sides. Hopefully, the sweeping move for Adnan Al Balooshi’s winner is a sign of things to come.
TALKING POINT
Time to refresh the Whites
The post-mortem into the UAE’s disheartening loss in Saudi Arabia is continuing. At the heart of the issue is whether coach Mahdi Ali is making the most of his resources. Youngsters Al Akbari and Al Jazira’s Khalfan Mubarak were outstanding this weekend, with their presence for next month’s World Cup 2018 qualifier sure to add enthusiasm. The issues at fullback could also be solved by the Al Nasr pair of Mahmoud Khamis and Ahmed Al Yassi.