He has been labelled a “genius” by his coach at Johor Darul Ta’zim, Esteban Solari, with his trickery on the right proving to be a devastating weapon for both club and country as he has shone domestically and on the international stage.
“I believe he has all the tools to achieve greatness,” Solari said recently. “He has the ability to grow as much as he wants. He has great character, works hard, always wants to improve and he has the desire to become a greater player and is still improving.”
High praise indeed for a young man who has made little more than 20 appearances for Malaysia since being granted his debut against Bahrain in May 2021 during qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 by former coach Tan Cheng Hoe soon after his 19th birthday.
Arif, though, has steadily justified his rapid rise and the hype that has built around him with performances that have been instrumental in JDT’s continued success at domestic level and Malaysia’s improving fortunes.
He scored eight times and garnered 13 assists as JDT retained – yet again – the Malaysia Super League title and was also instrumental in the club’s successful defence of the Malaysia Cup, scoring four times in four games.
Arif has transferred those numbers on the international stage, too.
In November he assisted three of the four goals Malaysia scored in their 4-3 victory over Kyrgyz Republic as Kim Pan-gon’s side notched up back-to-back wins in Preliminary Joint Qualification – Round 2 for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 matches.
While he has been known to play occasionally on the left and in a slightly deeper role on the right side of midfield, it is as a right winger where Arif flourishes and he will be looking to do damage to opponents at the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™.
آخرین مطالب
“I play in an attacking position,” he said recently. “I can’t play in other positions because dribbling is part of me and without it, I won’t have anything to show for on the pitch.”
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