Yohan Cabaye: “He (Ben Arfa) has always had the talent but now what is also his strength is his attitude towards the team, by defending well, by playing for the teammate next to him”.
Having missed out in two previous tournaments in the very final squad selection, this time it looks nailed on that he will be included in the squad and on this form could even feature in the starting eleven.
There has been a long history of players at Newcastle getting a raw deal in terms of national recognition, right back to the Milburn era, and the selection of Jack Butland ahead of Geordie Fraser Forster is hard to take.
With his end of season form on top of the massive groundswell of support he has back in France, it seems most unlikely to us that he will find himself unlucky a third time when the squad is finalised next week.
You had Hatem Ben Arfa; a player who gave us a master class in instant ball control, dribbling, dropping the shoulder, creating the crucial first goal, flashes of brilliance, then you had…Peter Crouch.
