I personally rate him higher than Benzema but it seems that I am the only one. I also think that he played better than Benzema when United played against Lyon.
I guess Inara could tell us more about him.
Actually, Ben Arfa is my favorite Lyon player after Juninho and Toulalan. I love the kid, and so does the French media - they've been hyping him since he was a 13 year old (I think the pressure was applied too much and too young). He even had his own reality TV show in France! And there is a good reason for it too.
Ben Arfa (in my opinion) is probably the best player in Ligue 1 in terms of pure talent. I'm not just talking among prospects but also established and veteran players - and even recently departed ones (Ribery who?). Not only does Ben Arfa have speed, but he can dribble, make blind passes, is poised on penalties, good with dead balls?every time he comes onto the pitch, he adds a dimension to the game that Lyon lacks.
Without a doubt, he has the most potential of
any French prospect with a VERY HIGH margin of progression, even more so than Benzema and Nasri.
Unfortunately, his flaws are holding him back. While Nasri and Benzema were enjoying call-ups to the French NT last season, Ben Arfa spent the greater portion of last year playing for the Lyon reserve squad (it?s interesting to note that two years ago, Benzema and Nasri were the ones in Ben Arfa?s shadow) - and yet Ben Arfa was promoted to Lyon's senior team before Benzema and debuted in the CL a year before him.
He pissed off Houllier for his unprofessional behavior - showing up late to practice, not taking advice seriously, etc, as well as for his lack of concentration in practices, his refusal to accept the fact that just because the media thought he was hot shit didn't mean that he deserved a place on the team, and his overall wasteful (read: selfish) play.
Even this year, under Perrin, Ben Arfa started out as a sub, and it took a while for Ben Arfa to earn his starting spot (he eventually dislodged Lyon's 18m signing Kader Keita). He was doing great for awhile, putting some truly spectacular performances (the games against Stuttgart and PSG come to mind), but in recent weeks, it's like he's forgotten what he's learned because his game seems to have gone backwards, and he's reverted back to the selfish player of last year. That's why he's been starting on the bench for the last couple of weeks at Lyon.
It?s sad, but for all his potential, Ben Arfa doesn?t have the "on pitch maturity" that Nasri and Benzema possess. He?s often been termed a selfish player because of his unwillingness to use his teammates and because he tries to do too much by himself. Conversely, sometimes he avoids doing anything individual for fear of being benched by Perrin. So he has to find the right balance between relying on his own abilities and trusting his teammates - basically being able to make the right choices, something that Benzema does far better.
In many ways, he is a lot like Ronaldo in his youth in that Ben Arfa has the footballing feet of a genius but the footballing brain of a five year old. But when he matures (that is, if he ever does), he?ll be absolutely unstoppable and quite possibly one of the best players of his generation.
