UAE head into Arabian Gulf Cup with plenty of questions to answer

This month’s 25th Arabian Gulf Cup represents the definitive end to a glittering era for UAE football.

Searching questions posed to head coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena after a divisive squad selection now center on whether this is the bold starting point for a fresh epoch of success ahead of the impending Asian Cup, or the beginning of an imperfect succession’s chastening descent.

For the first time at a major tournament since 2010’s regional running, none from the UAE’s celebrated “Golden Generation” trio of ground-breaking 2015 AFC Player of the Year Ahmed Khalil, 2016 winner Omar Abdulrahman and 81-goal national record marksman Ali Mabkhout are present.

These are the superstars who drove entry into the London 2012 Olympics, triumphed at the 2013 Arabian Gulf Cup, made successive semifinals in the Asian Cup and forged stellar reputations far beyond the country’s borders.

Unquestionable icons of the Emirati game. But, no longer untouchable ones.

Exclusions of the former-mentioned pair in Iraq were a given.

Khalil last netted in the ADNOC Pro League in November 2020 and has only just returned to regular duty at promoted Al-Bataeh.

The lionized days when “Amoory” was heralded as the prince of Khaleeji football are a faded memory. Several seasons bedevilled by serious injury and stark decline in attacking output put paid to that exalted status.

Al-Wasl — the enduringly frizzy-haired 31-year-old’s fourth club since August 2018 — have yet to witness a single goal contribution from 10 largely forgettable top-flight run-outs.

He was anonymous when called upon to turn the tide against Australia in June’s slender, but agonizing, fourth-round World Cup 2022 qualifying reversal. This was a first competitive cap since