Artwork takes inspiration from Arabic calligraphy DUBAI: Emirati artist Diaa Allam has created an artwork for Manchester City to mark Eid Al-Adha, with the piece of work now available for viewing in the Premier League club’s global platforms. Allam’s Arabic calligraphy-inspired drawing, which features star players Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez, was designed in his Abu Dhabi studio after he was asked to do the work. “To be honest, I was really thrilled to be asked to work on this project,” he said. “It was a huge honor to work on the design for Manchester City.” “I’m very excited about the prospect of other Manchester City fans around the world being able to see my work,” the huge Man City fan said. “It’s great to see a huge international club such as Manchester City send a message to the Muslim community for Eid in this style, it’s fantastic.” While this particular piece of art was created in Allam’s quiet studio, he often produces work in a totally different environment. “I’ve been doing it for more than 10 years now, developing my own style and becoming a specialist in Arabic calligraphy,” he explained. “It’s been my full-time job for more than three years. I do the canvases at my studio, but I also produce a lot of live art in front of an audience which is a lot of fun.” Allam, like the rest of the club’s supporters, is looking forward to Man City’s Champions League match against Real Madrid, in which they hold a 2-1 lead from the first leg. “I’m a big fan of Manchester City and it’s been great to watch the club achieve huge success and win so many trophies in the past few years. “I just hope that this season we can finally win the Champions League, and if we can beat Real Madrid, we will have a great chance.”