Therapy Post: Making Sense of the Hatem Ben Arfa Debacle

By: Inara | July 8th, 2008

Disclaimer: I know that it’s been a week now since Hatem Ben Arfa left Lyon for Marseille. Both John and Magnusson have covered this topic very thoroughly, so most of you are probably tired of hearing about it.

But I just can’t let this go. I can’t just delete the “Ben Arfa” category on the right and list him as “Former Lyonnais.” I can’t just shut the door on years of history, at least not without closure. So please bear with me (or ignore me entirely) as I try to come to terms with Lyon selling the most gifted French player of this generation to a hated rival.

I’m going to skip over the mundane details of his transfer and the stupid and pointless squabbling between Lyon and Marseille over some technicalities in Ben Arfa’s contract. You can read about that here and here.

Instead, I’m going to focus on why this transfer, as painful as it was, had to happen.

You guys know how much I love Ben Arfa. I’ve been saying since I started this blog that he’s one of the most talented players I’ve ever seen, and I’m not just talking about prospects. He was also my favorite OL player, surpassed only by Jeremy Toulalan and Juninho. So please understand that when I say this transfer was for the best, it’s not because I don’t like or want Ben Arfa at Lyon.

We have to look at this situation logically to see that there was a reason that had Lyon acting so aberrantly. Normally, they cling onto their best talent, either to propel the club’s ambitions or to sell them for big money.

We saw Lyon fight tooth and nail to keep Clement Grenier, who hasn’t accomplished anything besides a few good showings for the U16 team. We saw what Aulas did during the transfers of Eric Abidal, Michael Essien, and Mahamadou Diarra – we’re seeing it now with Sebastien Squillaci, Anthony Reveillere, and Gregory Coupet. Lyon almost always make it difficult for good players (and even the so-so ones) to leave. Ultimately, the players who want to move are forced into hysterics and end up boycotting training.

But Lyon didn’t do any of that with Ben Arfa, who is arguably the most talented player Lyon have ever sold besides Essien. In fact, Lyon put Ben Arfa on the shop window and practically begged clubs to take him away.

It was a bad breakup.

Why?

We don’t really know the answer to that. I’ve seen speculation that it’s because he doesn’t get along with Karim Benzema, so the club is sacrificing one to keep the other happy. Please. This isn’t a high school cheerleading squad. Personal problems between two players don’t prevent them from working together unless it involves someone’s wife and/or the threat of violence.

One of Ben Arfa’s problems was that nearly the entire squad was uneasy around him. All you have to do is watch the videos from the last few weeks of the season, and you’ll see what I mean. While everyone else was celebrating, you could tell that Ben Arfa didn’t have anyone to celebrate with.

My maternal area wants to protect Ben Arfa from all those meanies on the team, but this is Lyon, not the Sicilian mafia. As much as I want to believe that Ben Arfa is the wronged one, logically I know that he’s done something to lose the friendship and trust of his teammates.

We’ve also seen comments from Ben Arfa in the media this year where, during the period when he was benched for several consecutive games, he said that he didn’t think there was anything wrong with the way he played and that it was the very qualities that Perrin criticized which made him special.

Ben Arfa is right in the sense that yes, individualism isn’t necessarily a bad quality to have in a player, but he’s wrong when he says that he didn’t have room for improvement. And that’s why all of his coaches have been frustrated with him – his refusal to acknowledge his weaknesses.

Ben Arfa flies south to a new nest.

It’s easy to blame Alain Perrin, and part of it was his fault – he didn’t handle Ben Arfa with a lot of subtlety. But it’s not just Perrin who was unhappy with him. Paul Le Guen and Gerard Houllier also had problems managing Ben Arfa. Even the staff at OL – Remi Garde, Joel Bats, Sonny Anderson, Bruno Genesio, Robert Duverne, etc – people who have known Ben Arfa since he arrived from Clairefontaine, didn’t want him to stay. His teammates isolated him. Even Aulas and Lacombe were willing to see him leave.

So it’s not just one man who wanted him out. It’s not just because of one incident. Ben Arfa’s position at Lyon has been deteriorating for some time now.

The other troubling part of this transfer is the destination. I couldn’t believe that Aulas was not only willing to deal with Marseille, but he was also willing to sell them Ben Arfa at a discount price (final price was €12m up front plus another €1m if OM qualify for the CL next season, as well as 20% of future profits from his sale).

Marseille?!?! Crazy, right? After all, they have been asses themselves when it comes to selling players to Lyon. Remember the Franck Ribery incident, when Diouf swore that Aulas wouldn’t get a player from him over his dead body? How Marseille kept the Bolo Zenden signing on the dl because they were worried Lyon would steal him from under their noses? And how they threatened to report Lyon for sniffing around Samir Nasri last year?

Make no mistake, Aulas could have made more money selling Ben Arfa abroad. He also wouldn’t have reinforced a direct rival. But I guess he really was sincere in his wish to make French football stronger, and with Marseille about to lose Nasri to Arsenal, without Ben Arfa, they don’t have as much chance to challenge Lyon for the title.

I don’t blame Ben Arfa for leaving. He needed a fresh start, and Lyon needed to bring the team back together. However, I would have preferred to see him at any other French club, but with a player of his stature, only PSG and Marseille are attractive choices, except PSG couldn’t match the fee and aren’t in the Champions League next season.

For Marseille, they are getting a terrific player, and I think Ben Arfa will enjoy Marseille. With Nasri gone, he has the chance to be the star and won’t be overshadowed by Benzema.

I have my doubts about it though – Eric Gerets isn’t known for working with youth, and Ben Arfa needs a lot of guidance. But perhaps he’ll surprise all of us and prove me wrong.

I will miss him. But at least he’s still in Ligue 1, where I can keep tabs on him and watch him often. If he moved to another country, he’d totally drop from my radar since I don’t really watch other leagues.

Good luck, Hatem!