Hatem Ben Arfa in Marseille…
By: Magnusson | June 22nd, 2008
…to look for a condo. Lyonnais midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa, who has been voicing an interest for Marseille for quite a while now, has apparently decided to take matters into his own hands before going on vacation and letting the two clubs handle the business side of his transfer. Hatem was spotted in the Marseille area with his manager looking for appartments and houses by La Provence reporters this wednesday afternoon.
If one of the first things Claude Puel said is that he wanted to speak with the player and make him on eof his key players next season, it has been reported earlier that Lyon’s staff is less than thrilled by that idea and would much rather see him leave as quickly as humanly possible.
If Hatem Ben Arfa’s “early”arrival in Marseille may come as a surprise to many, it is an even bigger one for the Marseille staff who were reportedly shocked to hear he was in the area (In the article, the journalist uses the term, “sur le cul”, “on their ass”. Pardon the french). Nobody at the club was made aware of it. Ben Arfa’s unpredictability is what makes him an amazingly refreshing player to watch. Apparently, he conducts himself the same way in real life.
Pape Diouf and Jean-Michel Aulas saw each other on friday for the UCPF General Assembly but didn’t get to an agreement for the kid. They’ll meet again tomorrow and Marseille will have some more time to execute their “BAK27″ project (more on that soon).
Let’s hope next time Ben Arfadrops by the Commanderie, people are aware of it.
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Do you think this will be a good move for Marseille? Ben Arfa is really talented, but he’s turning out to be the next Antonio Cassano. He’s been under three managers at Lyon and all three were deeply unsatisfied with him. Since Gerets recently said that he’s not interested in developing talent, is he going to be able to make something out of Ben Arfa?
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United States
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this is why arsene would rather convert nasri into a winger than buy ben arfa. arsene knows!
Posted from
United States -
Ben Arfa is a tough player to handle. I honestly don’t know if Gerets can manage him, but I think no one can be sure of anything regarding him. He’s talented and has a temper, but what will make the difference it’s actually playing in OM. If he succeeds in winning the fans hearts, that could be enough for him. We all knows, how the Vélodrome is when it is on fire, and that could be a strong drive for his ego. What do you think Magnusson?
Posted from
France -
Inara - Do I think it would be a good move for Marseille. Absolutely! On a sports standpoint, to have Ben Arfa on the left, Koné on the right and Valbuena just behind Niang would make us a threat to any team. But as you say, Ben Arfa has proved himself to be a locke room cancer. But what if the real cancer is Benzema? They hate each other and Benz is performing better, maybe Lyon stuck with the more valuable of the two! The french team fiasco showed that Nasri and Benzema wwho wre hailed for their maturity not so long ago behaved like brats in Swizerland.
I think Gerets said he was not interested in devellopping talent in general but he was happy to get Elliott Grandin and Dédé Ayew will not be leaving either. Kaboré is hardly experienced, Valbuena is very young too. He said that he didn’t want a team of youngsters like in Paris but Ben arfa has 3 seasons of Champions League experience, that makes him more accustomed to that level of stress than any player on our team.Josh G - Arsene does know. But Arsene is heartless. If Nasri proves to be a poor winger (which is a great possibility, since he doesn’t have the pace Ben Arfa does), Samir will have to wait a long time to get his shot.
Sinan - I believe Gerets can manage anyone. The guy put Djibril Cissé on the bench, Phsically confronyrd Karim Ziani on his antics. No Matter what, Gerets was a captain, a hothead and a leader. He can handle anyone. Plus Marseille is an environment where a player of that caliber could blossom. I believe he could put the Vélodrome in his pocket in two home games.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, JMA still hasn’t sold him yet.
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France
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