Some Newcastle fans have been reflecting on former Magpies star Hatem Ben Arfa on Twitter.
This comes after the official Premier League Twitter account shared a post on their page of a video clip of one of Ben Arfa’s goals for the Tyneside club during his time there.
This tweet then gathered a number of replies from Newcastle fans who wanted to share their opinions on the French playmaker.
Was Hatem Ben-Arfa Newcastle's best player this decade?
Yes
No
Here’s a sample of Newcastle fans reacting to the footage of Ben-Arfa:
@RCoulten94 I miss him so much
— Nico (@NicholasTroth) November 27, 2019
Wasted talent unfortunately
— pol1971 nufc (@Polyflanders191) November 27, 2019
Jot bad for been lazy mind was he have this over Almiron all day
— ToonBarmy2 (@Barmy2Toon) November 27, 2019
Never forget…..
— The Geordie Boot Boy (@BootGeordie) November 27, 2019
The footage shows a goal scored by Ben Arfa against Fulham back in 2013 at St. James’ Park. The Frenchman picks the ball up on the edge of the Fulham penalty box on the right-hand side, before cutting in onto his left foot before and then fires the ball past the Fulham goalkeeper in typical Ben Arfa style.
Back when we had forward players who looked like scoring goals #nufc
— Andrew (@jiggapob) November 27, 2019
Cannot believe some #NUFC fans still to this day don’t realise what we had with HBA! Still my favourite player of all time! Everytime he got the call you felt anything was possible! Nearest we’ve had to that is Saint – let’s hope he’s next in line
— Chris Hall (@Chris_Hall1312) November 28, 2019
Sheer Class, What a Player !!!
— ROBERT CAMPBELL (@ROBERTC02876412) November 28, 2019
What do we think?
The now 32-year-old made 86 appearances for Newcastle, scoring 14 goals and producing 16 assists along the way (per TransferMarkt).
Interestingly, the Frenchman felt humiliated prior to leaving the club on a free to join OGC Nice, due to being demoted to the reserves in what was a difficult time in his career.
The replies to this footage show just how much Ben Arfa is still appreciated at the Tyneside club. Indeed, despite having a mixed time at the club and being labelled as a ‘flop’ after his exit, he is still a fan favourite at Newcastle.