Magician, Le-Wizard and The Hatem-bomb, these are names given to Ben Arfa, a player of clear quality, but also clear frustration to fan's and team-mate's alike. Favouring to dribble past three players than to make a simple pass to fellow team-mate's on more than one occasion. He is clearly our best technical player, and his reason's for not being first choice every week is unclear to some, but I would like to throw my opinion into why this is. Many Newcastle fan's have compared Ben Arfa to three time Ballon d'or winner Lionel Messi because of his style of play, but there is more than a couple of difference's between the pair that I will go through later. There has also been criticism's of his work rate, team work and general attitude with a slight hint of arrogance in the way the player has conducted himself. This article will involve an in depth analysis on my view's on Ben Arfa's failure to shine consistently at St.James Park.
The French Messi
Lionel Messi and Ben Arfa are both fantastic dribbler's on the ball, but what makes Messi a three time Ballon d'or winner and Ben Arfa struggle to get off of Newcastle's bench? I believe it is attitude, tactics and work rate. For one Lionel Messi is an amazing professional, and players don't have a bad word to say about him, he is respected and idolised by players and coaches alike, while Ben Arfa is frustration, inconsistency and sometimes laziness, when I've watched games that Ben Arfa's played in, he has drifted in and out of games while having sparkling moments but nothing consistent. This could be pinned on the fact that, the manager's tactic's don't compliment Ben Arfa, because he isn't allowed a free role like Gareth Bale was at Tottenham the season before he left for Real Madrid, he was fantastic that season. Also Lionel Messi has a free role because of Barcelona's style of play, where they keep a lot of the ball, which allows him to have the chance to make something happen,without him having to track back of course. The fact Ben Arfa isn't on the same level as Messi, could also be attributed to Ben Arfa's work rate, when a player like him should be able to have an impact on any game if they wanted too enough, even if they are on the wing, but some games he just stands there and doesn't look motivated, but this could be attributed to the manager being unable to motivate the player. Furthermore with Lionel Messi you rarely see him stop, he is always running and getting into position's to make something happen, because he has the drive within himself to be the best. I have no problem's with players who don't track back, if they provide enough going forward that you can accept the laziness defensively, but the truth is Ben Arfa doesn't and this will be shown later as I compare him and Moussa Sissoko.
Arrogance
Arrogant is a term that is defined by a person having an exaggerated opinion of one's own importance. This is a term that fits Ben Arfa perfectly, but it is not necessarily a bad thing. This arrogance is what makes him the player he is, who has the confidence to beat full backs, and dribble past the opposition because no matter what, he believe's he is better than them. This can be linked with statements from the player himself claiming he wants to win the Ballon d'or. Although he's not saying he will win it, he clearly has an idea in his head that he has a chance, and this shows he has a very high opinion of how himself. This is what separates him from the top players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, they believe they are the best and know they are, but a quality both of these player's contain is humility. Humility allow's them to know that they are part of a team, and even though they are world class they need to contribute all the time. This comes from passing and acknowledging other players runs, rather than show boating and trying to take on the world, because at the end of the day football is and always will be a team sport. Also Ben Arfa's arrogance has always been a problem with arguments in various dressing room's, which left him omitted from the France squad, the same as Samir Nasri. Being a player isn't just about how you play on the pitch, it's about how you conduct yourself off of it too. I believe this is why Ben Arfa has always struggled with manager's such as Didier Deschamps' and Alan Pardew, but Pardew is more understandable after the past couple of season's, it is still no excuse to not act professional, just ask Joey Barton, his ego problem's lead to him losing his place at Newcastle which disappointed everyone, let's just hope Ben Arfa doesn't make the same mistake.
Stat Attack
One of the main criticism's that falls to Ben Arfa is that he's greedy and doesn't pass enough, I agree that more often than not he would rather go for solo glory than provide an easy pass for a team mate. This greed has led to rumours of falling out with team mate's and with the management. Also this lack of passing would be accepted if the player had more of an end product, contributing with only 13 goals and 11 assists from 79 appearances, including 29 of these appearance's being substitution's, which can make the criticism seem harsh because these substitutions could have been Ben Arfa being brought on in the last 10 minutes, especially with Pardew in charge, but you have to remember these are statistics, and they don't give a full vision of how he plays. In comparison with that though, the statistics show that in every 50 games he has played, he contributed to around 15 goals by scoring or assisting them, which is what frustrates me about Ben Arfa so much, because he has all this potential and ability but he doesn't do all that talent justice.
The main criticism Ben Arfa always faces is passing, so I thought using some statistics to show the amount of passes he has made would be an interesting read. Since he came to Newcastle Ben Arfa has made 1752 passes in 79 appearances which does show he is willing to pass to team-mates, but I don't believe the majority are when he wants to, more than likely they occur when he has dribbled past too many players and doesn't believe he can hold onto the ball, which is useful because it allows us to retain possession. Also throughout his time here he has averaged a successful through ball percentage of 0.34% completing 10 through balls out of 29 from 79 appearances, which you really have to ask from such a creative talent, is that good enough? I don't think it is. Furthermore everyone knows he has a tendency to cut inside, rather than put in a cross for the strikers who attack the box, which I don't mind but it becomes a bit predictable and it's a team sport, so would it be so bad for him to work on his crossing for the team, which could add something else to his locker. I can back this up with the fact in 79 games he has completed 42 successful crosses in his time at Newcastle out of 183 attempts, giving Ben Arfa a cross completion record of 23%, which for a winger shows a lot to improve and backs up the fact that he lack's consistency in his all round game. Also I know I have gone on about Ben Arfa's limitations in the passing department, but he has contributed with 94 key passes in 79 appearances which does show he is capable of creating key moments,although I think the main complaint people have is that he doesn't do it enough.
These statistics I have found aren't really much use, unless I compare them with another player. So I have picked Moussa Sissoko who this season has been preferred to Ben Arfa in the right wing/midfielder position. First of all Sissoko's contribution to Newcastle United since being here is 6 goals and 9 assists in 53 appearances,which means in every 50 games he plays, he contribute's to roughly 14 goals by scoring or assisting. So as you can see from what he has provided for the team he is similar to Ben Arfa, but doing slightly better, even though they are totally different types of player. Ben Arfa is more of a dribbler, who uses his skill to beat defenders, while Sissoko is essentially a 6'1" battering ram, who uses his power and pace to take on defenders.
The amount of passes Sissoko has made since he has been a Newcastle player is more than Ben Arfa's, with Sissoko making 2064 passes in less games, which suggests why people have an opinion that Ben Arfa is greedy but like I said they are different styles of player.Secondly Sissoko's ability to pick out through balls appears to be better than Ben Arfa's, with Sissoko completing 14 successful through balls out of 40 attempts giving him a success percentage of 35% again making them similar in that respect, this surprised me if I am totally honest, but it shows Sissoko is willing to be more of a team player, as he has attempted more forward passes in less games than Ben Arfa, so I would say Sissoko is the more positive player in that aspect.
Thirdly we come to crossing, which is an aspect that we have been heavily critical of to the team, as we just can't seem to be able to do it consistently. Sissoko has completed 38 crosses from 143 attempts, which give's Sissoko a cross completion percentage of 27%, which is better than Ben Arfa's but still not good enough for a winger in my opinion. Also you could argue that both players have claimed so few assists from successful crosses because the standard and form of our strikers have been sporadic. The final area I have looked at is key passes, with Sissoko contributing with 104 which is very impressive, meaning he has provided more key moments than Ben Arfa in less games. This clearly explains why Sissoko has been picked ahead of Ben Arfa this season, but I can't speak for any other players because I thought comparing two players that played in the same position would only be fair.
Should we sell or keep?
I personally would like to keep Ben Arfa, if he was able to be more consistent and more of a team player, but if he is unable to maintain consistency, then I think we should get rid. Also if he doesn't fit into the managers tactics I don't believe he should be rotting on the bench, because it's not fair on any player who wants to have a decent career. I do believe he can perform well for a team that plays to his strengths, but if we aren't going to, then our love affair with the inconsistent Hatem-bomb will have to end. He has all the technical ability to be a great player for any team, but with our club in the state that it's in I don't think he is going to have a future for us.
If only there was more of this!
(I worked out the fraction's and other data myself and i am sure they are right I triple checked them. Also for the comparisons for Ben Arfa and Sissoko I put both out of 50 games as that was easier to understand.)
Further post's will be on the Facebook page: All Aboard! The Toon Rollercoaster <Click for link
Further post's will be on the Facebook page: All Aboard! The Toon Rollercoaster <Click for link
Statistics provided by:
- http://www.whoscored.com/Players/10194/Show/Hatem-Ben-Arfa
- http://www.whoscored.com/Players/29595/History/Moussa-Sissoko
Couldn't agree more
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