Arabic players are set to light up Europe’s two elite leagues as they get down to the pointy end.
Here are our top six Arabic players to watch out for in the knockout stages of the Champions League and the Europa League, headlined of course by the “Egyptian Messi”, Mo Salah:
v Porto (Feb 14 Estadio do Dragao, Mar 6 Anfield)
Any list of this kind has to start with the extraordinary Egyptian who has been absolutely magnificent since arriving from Roma to Liverpool in the middle of last year.
He has scored a stunning 29 goals this season, including five in the Champions League, plus a further eight assists and his partnership with Roberto Firmino gets better every match.
Yacine Brahimi (Porto)
v Liverpool (Feb 14 Estadio do Dragao, Mar 6 Anfield)
The talented Algerian has slotted in superbly on the left for Porto since his arrival from Granada in 2014.
He played all six of the group stage matches, playing 506 of a possible 540 minutes, scoring a goal and assisting another in the crucial 5-2 win over Monaco that saw Porto confirm their qualification for the knockout stages.
In all he has scored eight goals in 34 matches in all competitions for Porto this season.
Medhi Benatia in action for Juventus.
Medhi Benatia (Juventus)
v Tottenham (Feb 13 Juventus Stadium, Mar 7 Wembley)
The Moroccan centre back has been ever reliable at the heart of the Juventus defence this season with 21 appearances in all competitions, including five in the Champions League.
His growing understanding with Andrea Barzagli has been vital to Juve’s defensive solidity this season and he has also popped up with a couple of goals in Serie A, the first against Crotone and the second a crucial winner against AS Roma.
Achraf Hakimi (Real Madrid)
v PSG (Feb 13 Bernabeu, Mar 7 Parc de Princes)
The 19-year-old Moroccan made history last year becoming the first Arabic player ever to play for the famous Los Blancos.
Achraf, or “Arra,” as his team-mates call him played the full 90 minutes against Spurs in his Champions League debut at the Bernabeu and backed it up by also playing the full match in the return fixture at Wembley.
“He had a lot of the ball; he didn’t look out of place at any stage,” El Pais journalist Pablo Perez said after the match. “He incorporated very well in attack. He didn’t suffer much in defence.”
We’ll have to wait and see if he appears in the knockout stages but its clear he has a big future ahead of him in Madrid.
Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal)
v Ostersund (Feb 15 Ostersund Arena, Feb 22 Emirates Stadium)
Along with Salah, Elneny played a key role in Egypt’s historic qualification for the World Cup.
Since his arrival at the Emirates in 2015 he has made 33 appearances for the Gunners contributing three assists.
The jury is still out with most Arsenal supporters about just how big a role Elneny can play for the Gunners but the 25-year-old is sure to feature as they try to go deep into the Europa League.
He’s played six matches in the tournament so far, scoring a goal in the 6-0 rout of BATE Borisov.
Sofiane Hanni (Spartak Moscow)
v Athletic Bilbao (Feb 15 Stadion Spartak, Feb 22 Estadio de San Mamés)
The 27-year-old Algerian attacking midfielder began the season at Anderlecht in Belgium where he played all six group matches of their unsuccessful Champions League campaign, even scoring against Bayern Munich.
On the January deadline day he joined Spartak Moscow in a three-and-half-year deal, which will now see him turn out for them in the Europa Laegue, starting with Athletic Bilbao on Thursday.
Hanni scored 18 goals in 61 league appearances for Anderlecht and led the Purple-Whites to league triumph last season as the captain.
He gained his first cap for Algerian side in June 2016, aged 25, in an Africa Cup of Nations qualification match against Seychelles.
