Hatem Ben Arfa to Arsenal?

By: Inara | May 12th, 2008

NOOOOOOOOO.

My very worst nightmare is coming true.

I’m a huge Hatem Ben Arfa fan. He has some faults, but I adore him. He’s so talented and has so much potential. I just know he’s going to be one of France’s biggest stars.

A goodbye kiss?

So these Arsenal rumors are making me cry. Granted, nothing has happened to far, and even Ben Arfa said that he was still undecided, but past experience has taught me to fear the worst. He might very well be in England next season.

I don’t blame Arsenal or even Ben Arfa. Arsenal are seeing an unhappy player who might be looking for a move (it’s hardly poaching when the player is so miserable), and Ben Arfa is benched and unfairly criticized by his nincompoop coach.

I blame Perrin.

I just don’t get how is mind is working on this. He knows what Ben Arfa is capable of. We saw it September - January. Sure, he’s not a Jeremy Toulalan or a Sidney Govou in his playing ethic, and he can be a little selfish and hog the ball, but even Karim Benzema does it. Kader Keita does it. Fred does it. Hell, even Juninho does it. The difference between them and Ben Arfa is that when they hog the ball, they tend to make better decisions, so it doesn’t look so bad.

And Ben Arfa can be that way too. But only if he gets the experience he needs. You don’t learn to make those kind of decisions on the bench. Perrin’s petty desire to punish the guy isn’t doing Lyon any favors. It’s common knowledge that Lyon played some of their best and most attractive football when Ben Arfa was on the pitch.

A second later, Perrin stabs Ben Arfa in the back.

Perrin’s excuse for not playing Ben Arfa, besides the selfish thing, is that he doesn’t seem dedicated at practices. Right. So 25 professional players are playing their hearts out, but not Ben Arfa, the guy who is desperate to get on the team again. And that’s Perrin’s reason for being “unconvinced” by him.

It’s a decision that has baffled even Jean-Michel Aulas and Bernard Lacombe, both of whom have said they were “puzzled” by the decision to punish Ben Arfa. That’s not quite a direct criticism of Perrin, but it’s pretty close.

Some people think that Ben Arfa wants to leave because of Benzema. Please. What utter tripe. So they aren’t BFFs. They’re both young stars and can get jealous of each other at times, but they’re also professionals who work together just fine. Perrin makes the situation seem worse because he often replaces one with the other, so you never really get to see them play together these days. But I watch them religiously, and OMG, they even hugged each other after the Nancy game and also during the UNFP awards. As for this Algerian-Tunisian conflict rumor, that has got to stop! Ben Arfa and Benzema have playing together for years and were friends during that time. It’s only in recent months that they’ve had their “spat.” But they’re young and will eventually get over it (it apparently started during the PSG game back in the fall - Ben Arfa didn’t give Benzema credit for setting up his goal. Kids these days…). And if Govou and Juni can get along, so can these two.

They so totally hate each other’s guts.

So what will it take for Ben Arfa to stay? He’s already made it clear several times that he will stay at Lyon only if he can play, i.e. no more of this exile business. It’s not a money issue since Arsenal won’t pay him any better than Lyon, and he said a month back that he would prefer not to make a foreign move for another two or three years. That tells us that this move might be forced (I mean, the kid’s gotta play - Lyon or Arsenal don’t make a difference at the end of the day). And apparently Arsene Wenger appreciates him more than Perrin.

I know Miralem Pjanic’s arrival seems like it’s replacing one for the other, but Pjanic is more of an attacking midfielder (though he can play as a winger). Furthermore, Lyon have been interested in Pjanic for months now, and they would have signed him even if Ben Arfa had extended until 2045.

But if Perrin leaves? Then I think Ben Arfa would stay. That might be the reason why he’s delaying his talks with both Lyon and Arsenal. He isn’t doing an Alou Diarra, who refused to consider staying at all last year.

I really hope Perrin leaves. His complete mismanagement of the Ben Arfa affair, as well as the overall lack of control he has over the locker rooms, is making me realize that he doesn’t know how to handle players very well. Please Jean-mimi. End this and let’s move on with a new coach.

GO AWAY, ALAIN. JUST GO AWAY.