Hatem Ben Arfa is one of those players who leave you thinking: ‘Just how good could he have been?’ When Ben Arfa made his move to Newcastle United from Marseille, he set the Premier League alight and his potential was seemingly limitless.
However, trouble always seemed to find its way to the midfielder and his attitude and commitment has been questioned, and is the reason Alan Pardew finally wanted to see him leave Tyneside.
Although there are two sides to every story, with Ben Arfa describing his final months with the Toon as ‘hell on earth’, it cannot be a coincidence that we have heard similar comments from multiple clubs.
Despite his past troubles, the Daily Mail, via Hammers News, have reported that West Ham were interested in taking a gamble on the Frenchman, given he is a free agent, therefore available to sign outside of the transfer window.
This news will undoubtedly, and understandably raise a few eyebrows. It seems as if nothing positive could have come out of this move. Let’s go through a few reasons why this transfer should not go through.
It goes without saying that West Ham are littered with attacking midfield options.
Felipe Anderson, Andriy Yarmalenko, Manuel Lanzini, Pablo Fornals, Michail Antonio and Robert Snodgrass are all available, meaning it would already be an uphill task for Ben Arfa to push himself into a matchday squad, never mind the starting line up.
Whilst at PSG, Ben Arfa went a whole year without playing, which he seemed to celebrate with a cake on social media; does that strike you as a player willing to work effectively enough to climb up the pecking order of an in-form, highly ambitious team?
The Hammers boss has been a manager since 1988 and is a serial winner. He does not seem like the type to allow laziness and passionless performances from his players.
This theory was further supported by Mark Noble and Declan Rice, who praised their manager for the team spirit he has created amongst the club.
Ben Arfa, seemingly, momentarily redeemed himself during a very impressive stint at French side Nice during the 2015-16 season, which saw him score 17 league goals and narrowly miss out on Ligue 1 Player of the Season.
So, signing the 32-year-old wouldn’t exactly be a guaranteed failure. The Irons have also been in a similar situation when they gambled on ‘bad boy’ Ravel Morrison, who certainly displayed his talents and potential.
However, the insecurity around the player’s attitude led to the termination of this contract following a few loan spells.
Ben Arfa reportedly insisted he has not received any interesting offers this season, and if one of them came from West Ham, then they may have dodged a bullet.
