Hatem Ben Arfa

[basskadet]

Ben Arfa was tipped for big things back when he was still at Lyon. Alongside his teammate & fellow youth team graduate Karim Benzema he was considered to be one of the most exciting prospects in French football and he had a host of European clubs scouting him, including Manchester United.

However, his career appears to have been blighted by his poor attitude. He left Lyon for Marseille stating his inability to get on with Benzema. The pair often argued & it was felt that Ben Arfa was mainly the instigator & was a negative influence. So, he ended up at Marseille where, at first, he continued his development & began to kick on from his experience at Lyon. It was not long tho before his ugly side reared its head once again & he got in several fights with his new team-mates.

A footballing prodigy he may be but it appears that he is a very difficult character to get along with & this, again, has meant him being left on the sidelines. His exclusion from the Marseille 1st team has reignited interest from clubs around Europe & reports in France are saying that Spurs are currently leading the pack for the troubled winger.

What do people think? Could Ben Arfa be the solution to our left side or could he prove himself a disruptive influence her at Tottenham just as he has at his previous 2 clubs.

I'm of the opinion that, under the right manager, this kid could be unstoppable. I'm not convinced he has had that in his time in France but whether Harry could prove to be that person who can tame his wild side remains to be seen.

Redknapp targets Ben Arfa

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-jdjb705-M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4t0eOMcWTU&NR=1

[nickGT]

This kid is a real talent IMO. I don't know much about his apparent poor attitude. I'm sure its nothing harry couldn't handle though. I remember watching him run circles around wes brown in the CL a few years back.

However... RVDV > Ben Arfa

[contrast]

We don't have a problem on our left hand side anymore.

So theres no need bringing in a argumentative little coont into the frame.

[CmonyouSpurs]

'Arry wouldn't want anyone with a character like that, so I don't think there's anything in it. Top quality player though, wouldn't mind him in a Spurs shirt at all if he got his attitude sorted.

[Roscono3]

Loads of tricks and real Pace! I think if we dont get him then another player with pace is needed. I think its the only real problem we have when lennon & JD's not playing.

I like him but could HR sort his ego out? I would rather not bother as its to much of a risk!

[Swanny]

Loads of tricks and real Pace! I think if we dont get him then another player with pace is needed. I think its the only real problem we have when lennon & JD's not playing.

I like him but could HR sort his ego out? I would rather not bother as its to much of a risk!

I fully agree with you mate not sure we need players like this, although I'm sure having a face to face with Joe Jordon would help change his attitude

[berby999]

He is good on Football manager so he must have something about him lol

[GMAN]

not good to bring on ..at the moment

we need to sort the attitudes of our own first - such as GDS, n also Taarabt.
It's no point adding to the problem with more disruption....

If anything, we need to sign people with a professional attitude - such as Wilson, Gomez, Kranj etc.

[Swanny]

He is good on Football manager so he must have something about him lol

I remember him as a center forward putting the fear of christ into defenders, awsome sight in full flight

[basskadet]

Personally, I think his bad attitude is over-exaggerated. I think the way he was treated at Lyon was pathetic, mis-management if ever I've seen it. Lyon clearly felt Benzema was the more valuable asset &, instead of remaining impartial & getting the 2 youngsters to knuckle down, shake hands & ignore their differences whilst on the pitch, they effectively chose Benzema's side & Ben Arfa was frozen out. I don't blame the kid for wanting to move on.

The incident at Marseille last season was blown out of proportion too from what I hear & it certainly did not effect Marseille or Ben Arfa's season as Gerets managed to get the team settled & they very nearly snatched the league from Bordeaux right on the final day of the season.

However, instead of pushing on, Didier Deschamps has come in for Gerets & the team appear to have gone backwards. His man management hasn't been great & the team's confidence is suffering. His decision to leave Hatem on the bench is costing him the respect of 1 of his best players.

If we went in for Ben Arfa I would not be unhappy in the slightest. He is a great footballer & his so-called bad attitude will only improve anyway when he gets older. That anger he has in him is not necessarily a bad thing. There is nothing wrong with his commitment, drive or ambition & all he needs is someone to teach him how to focus himself properly & suck in that rage & release it thru his football, his passion & his will to win.

I agree that we perhaps are not in need of a left-sided player as much as we were but we do not still have anyone in the team who can bring to our left-wing what Lennon does to our right. Next year we might even be in the CL, we'll certainly be in Europe, & we cannot just rely on Modric all the time. Niko can come in for Luka but he doesn't really offer us anything new. Hatem would. He is the perfect 'plan B' - a proper LW who can take players on down the outside & cross from the by-line.

I won't be gutted if we don't follow up our interest but I will also not be unhappy to see us stick a cheeky bid in. To be honest, when a player of Ben Arfa's skill & quality looks to be available, I would be really disappointed in us if we did not even take a look at him.

[P UNIT 1980]

I'd have him in a flash.

Gotta ask why bigger clubs havent been snifing around him though.

[spurs2rise]

Bale, Kranjcar, Bentley, Lennon, Modric... all wingers who play on the left. Lennon and Bentley can swap to left to mix things up.

We don't need a left winger anymore.

[EliteKiller]

spurs2rise have to disagree with you - with Modric and Lennon out we looked very narrow. Bentley had his chance (again) and just doesn't pass muster. Kranjcar perhaps but he is not a 'fast' winger, Bale is a mystery never seems to be available, and again not real pace.

Ben Arfa moved to Marseilles for 20m Euro with several sell on clauses, not sure if he can be purchased 'cheap'. Despite the stories at Lyon he had renewed his contract before the Marseilles move so he can't have been that much of a problem. At Marseilles along with the well publicized Djibril Cissé bust up, he has also been fined several times for arriving late to training and for match travel, just last month he missed a whole days training and was forced to apologize to his team-mates.

On the plus side his attitude on the pitch is good, never sent off and only 5 bookings in over 100 appearances. Might be just the player we need to add pace which was so sadly lacking with Lennon and Defoe both missing.

[CorLuka Modric]

Did Bentley have his chance? Didn't he only get 2 games? 1 of which he was brilliant, and one where the whole team was abysmal

(pardon me if he had more than 2 games, my memory is probably failing me)

[Cor-Luka]

Did Bentley have his chance? Didn't he only get 2 games? 1 of which he was brilliant, and one where the whole team was abysmal

(pardon me if he had more than 2 games, my memory is probably failing me)

he had more then 2 games, he is 2 seasons at spurs