Toon hoping that the real Hatem will stand up
Sep 11 2010 by Mark Douglas, The Journal
THE enigmatic Hatem Ben Arfa provides Newcastle with the ‘X Factor’ they have been missing. Mark Douglas talks to a man eager to impress at his new club.
A FRENCH newspaper ran an editorial this week thanking the English Premier League for its fantastic generosity.
In mock delight it read: “Thank you, England, for taking Ben Arfa and Gerard Houllier from us! You wouldn’t have a place for Nicolas Sarkozy as well would you?”
Welcome to Hatem Ben Arfa’s world. Regarded as one of the most gifted players ever to graduate from the Clairefontaine football factory, the French-Tunisian midfielder is loved and reviled in equal measure back home.
For every angry article there is a piece of fanmail, for every piece of approbation there is adulation. Even at his old club, two camps emerged when it became clear that Newcastle United wanted to buy him. One set of officials, led by sporting director Jose Anigo, wanted him to stay while another, helmed by manager Didier Deschamps, wanted rid of someone they saw as a serial troublemaker.
It is partly to shed this baggage that Ben Arfa was determined to push through his protracted move to England. Aged just 23, he sees a fresh start away from the expectation and pressure of being France’s great hope as the key to allowing the “real Ben Arfa” to flourish.
“It is true that I have a certain image after what has been in the newspapers in France,” he admits.
“People have written things about me without knowing the real me. I am sure that some of the things I have done have not helped my image when I was in France.
“It is true that the transfer (from Marseille) was a very drawn out affair, but I was always quite philosophical about it. Sometimes the negotiations take a long time and I am realistic enough to know that these things have to work themselves out sometimes.
“But I am here now and I see coming to Newcastle as a chance to see the real Hatem. The great thing is I start here with a clean slate. I hope people will now see the real Hatem Ben Arfa.”
So before we touch on the genius that United supporters are so desperate to see in black and white, a word about the combustible nature that has seen him shifted out of two clubs under a shadow.
His strike at Marseille was seen as further evidence to back up his bad boy reputation, but Ben Arfa insists he is misunderstood.
He insists he was lied to at the Stade Velodrome and made a pawn of the political wrangling that makes United circa 2007 look like a parish council meeting.
In short, he has a problem with “injustice” and as long as he is treated with respect and told the truth at Newcastle, he will be the perfect ambassador for the club.
