Newcastle winger Hatem Ben Arfa has been in inspired form of late for the Magpies, and his recent performance against Aston Villa was greatly praised by his manager Alan Pardew. By his own admission, Ben Arfa wanted to score more goals this season, and with two goals and one assist from his first four games, he's certainly enjoying the best start to a season. In the side's recent victory 2-1 over Aston Villa, the 26-year old midfielder was a constant threat on the right-hand side. Cutting in on his left, the Villa defence didn't know what to do with him. He scored his side's opener and played a big part in the match-winner. Boasting such fine form, Ben Arfa is now hoping he can add to his 12 caps for the France national team - his last coming in 2012. Pardew said of his star player;
'He's magnificent. Anything can happen with Hatem. No one can deal with him. His concentration is terrific, and if he keeps that he'll be pushing for the France team.'
France face Australia in an international friendly next month, and Hatem Ben Arfa could well find himself included should he continue his fine start for Newcastle. Putting himself in contention of making the 2014 World Cup squad is now becoming a realistic target for the 26-year old, and he is hoping manager Didier Deschamps is keeping an eye on his current run of form.
Crippy Cooke, 23, is a freelance Football Writer contributing to What Culture. He's had work featured on Zoo, MSN, London 24, The Telegraph, The Huffington Post, and was recently named Writer of the Year on FTBpro - while also a nominee for Best Male Blog in the Football Blogging Awards.
