Ben Arfa: Persistence Got Me Here
By Tyne-Talk
September 4 2010
Newcastle United new boy Hatem Ben Arfa has praised the clubs persistence to get him on board and has said that this is what made him sign. The 23 year old who left Marseille and turned down the chance to play in the Champions League to join newly promoted Newcastle, is hoping to make his debut against Blackpool on Saturday 11th September.
Ben Arfa said of his move;
"Newcastle had made the effort to try to sign me and I wanted to come. I had to force the issue to make sure I could come here.
I don't mind turning down the chance to play in the Champions League to play for Newcastle.
They may not be in Europe, but I want to play in this league and for this club. It's interesting for me to play abroad and in the Premier League."
Manager Chris Hughton has suggested that it could take some time for his new players to settle in the Premier League;
"It is down to the individual how long it takes them to settle because everyone is different, but it is also up to us, the staff and players, to do everything we can to get them settled as quickly as possible.
It can be difficult for some players coming in to a different sort of working environment in a different country and some do struggle. At the moment, we don't know how long it is going to take for Tiote (Cheik Tiote formally of FC Twente) and Ben Arfa to adapt to English football.
Some players pretty much get it straight away, but more often than not there is a settling-in period. It could be months until we see the best of them, it might only be a few weeks. But the sooner we can get them settled and up to speed, the better for us as a football club because they are two very good players.”
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Who knows and he might set the premier alight and demand a bigger move next year but we shall see. Im just glad we have him and he seems bang up for it.
another one!
As to the details of how he left-honestly, I can't be bothered that much. At this point, I accept that we're not going to get world-class players under completely normal circumstances. Maybe he'll be a @#$%&, but I'm not going to assume that. What's done is done-he's here and I'm crossing my fingers as to his attitude!
as has been said elsewhere, we had no-one doing the things we hope ban arfa will be able to do for us. and given that its a loan, we havent taken on the risk of him not being as good as we hope, either.
here's hoping for a half time lead against blackpool, and a long run out for the new boy soon after the break
